Re: A Hemingway connection?

Mattis Fishman (mattis@argos.argoscomp.com)
Tue, 13 Apr 1999 17:09:31 -0400 (EDT) 

    Hello,

    Thank you, Tim, for the information on Hemingway. As you say, it
    (the story "The Last Good Country") is disappointing to read because
    it seems to come to no resolution, which makes sense if it is only
    an abandoned fragment. The chronological information you provided was
    just what I was looking for, and confirms my suspicion that this was
    a late work.

    When described in the overall context of the author's work, it seems
    to take a greater importance (an attempt to return to a Michigan past)
    then I would have guessed from the actual text. It is a pleasant
    story, with the charm of what we Salingerholics have come to call
    innocent (or to some, pedophilic) love, yet the thought that I can
    only understand a piece of writing when viewed in a larger context,
    whether it's the writer's overall work or, in this case, the Nick Adam's
    pseudo-collective novel, makes me wonder about the strength of the work
    (and will probably earn me a barrage of deconstructionist replies).

    I realize that I am too familiar with the small amount of Glass family
    literature to be able to judge whether these stories also depend upon
    one another, intentionally or otherwise, but being unfamiliar with
    Hemingway and Nick Adams, and getting the feeling that I indeed need
    to have a whole picture before I can fully appreciate the parts makes
    me think that someone coming to Salinger for the first time is likely
    to experience the same, perhaps subliminal, frustration and suspicion
    that he is missing something.

    Thanks again.

    all the best,
    Mattis