>And to bring this all back to a close, I would like to say that apart > >from all the many reasons there are to like Salinger's writing, some of > >it I like because of the setting and the syntax of the dialogue, in that > >i have a romanticised view of what holden's or franny's time was like. I > >enjoy being able to sink into a book and be transported far away from > >Clinton's flaccid sex life and the top 40... from Oprah's book club and > >the new cK camapaign... > > > >to a time when people dressed well, cared about the theatre, drank >martinis and highballs and... oh, you know what i mean. > >:helena > > hear, hear. i've always felt (and this is a very un-intellectual statement) that escapism IS in fact a valid goal of both reading and writing. perhaps not the most important goal, but at the very least, a very respectable one. especially when there's so much to escape from, like the flu, a bitchy secretary, 200 pages of a human physiology textbook, and an extreme lack of beer. just venting, matt > >-- > >http://www.geocities.com/SouthBeach/4801/