Warren French
J J R (jrovira@juno.com)
Wed, 02 Dec 1998 17:06:30 -0500 (EST)
Wrote a book called JD Salinger revisited. It's the first work about
Salinger that I've read--I mean, I've read no literary criticism,
nothing.
This particular book reads like it was written by a book reviewer rather
than a scholar. He's given scholarly status in the "about the author"
part of the book--it refers to "graduate degrees" rather than just saying
he got his PhD. And it gives a long list of colleges he's taught in.
But, I'm sorry, the guy just plain sounds pretty stupid sometimes (in my
opinion. At least, not professional).
HOWEVER, it is a readable, fairty straightforward description of
Salinger's work, and a good introduction (it seems to be so far, anyways)
to the issues surrounding his life and work. And it does point toward
good primary sources (so far as I can tell) in Salinger scholarship.
Now, this may not have been French's "intent" (heh, a loaded word now :)
), but when French was describing Salinger's gradual withdrawal from the
public eye, I came away with a picture of Salinger as a man with a fairly
low self-esteem--someone who can't take either praise or criticism very
well and, as a result, would rather withdraw from the world rather than
face it. That was my impression, anyways, and French nowhere comes out
and even Strongly Implies such a thing...
Jim
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