Re: The Great Salinger May Not Be Universal

J J R (jrovira@juno.com)
Thu, 16 Jul 1998 23:03:24 -0400 (EDT) 

On Thu, 16 Jul 1998 18:21:10 +0500 Sundeep Dougal
<holden@giasdl01.vsnl.net.in> writes:
><Pedant mode on>
>
>But, Jim, with _ Mostly Harmless _ there are now 5 books in the
>increasingly                     inaccurately named _ trilogy _! 

THANK YOU FOR THE INFORMATION...very much :)

>
>Besides, with no intentions of starting a Heisenbergian debate here, _ 
>what
>_ is _ speaking objectively _? 
>

Within the context of my post, speaking objectively would mean "rating"
literature by standards beyond how it happens to effect me at the moment
or at this point in my life.  While Adam's prose is perfect for the
writing he's doing, it's nothing compared to Shakespeare's use of
language, or nearly as adept at capturing a voice as Salinger's work.  

>_What_ determines what deserves, or, doesn't, to be taken _ seriously 
>_ ?
>
>This is prompted no doubt, by watching Doug Adams in a BBC interview 
>on the
>filming of _ Last Chance to See _.
>

I even you for seeing that, wish I had :).  "Seriousness" is one of those
words like "objectivity."  It has meaning but is hard to define
precisely, especially when we're talking about something like
literature--in which the subjective always plays a part.  I think it's
about as silly to deny that some literature should be taken more
seriously than others as it is to affirm that we can determine this with
some kind of mathematical precision.

When I take literature "seriously," I study the hell out of it.  I get
into the work.  When I don't, I read it and don't think about it again. 
Literature that deserves to be taken seriously kinda forces you to think
about it.  Writing that does not deserve to be takne seriously tends to
merely shoot for a visceral effect (like pornographic lit, romance lit,
most horror fiction, comic books, etc) without linking that to something
more meaningful than the twinge in the gut itself.

Hope that's something of an answer.

Jim   

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