Re: Soft Boiled

i'd say it's a pretty darn good reading.

i looked at it a few days ago and just couldn't get
into it. the narrator's voice is unconvincing, the
story is contrived.

the only early war stories i like are the ones about
babe and vincent. now there's a nice little
accomplishment, those four or five stories.

i'd love to hear a similar take on 'ocean' and 'peter
pans' when you had a chance.......

kim

--- tina carson <tina_carson@hotmail.com> wrote:
> All right, here's my first take on the good Sgt:
>
> First it struck me the great number of times in his
> writing that Salinger
> mentions movies. As I recall, he often, as here,
> blames a female for loving
> the movies. Obviously, in real life he has this
> love/hate thing for movies,
> being, at the time (ie 40's & 50's) glossy
> boy-meets-girl themes with happy
> endings. He, as does Philly here, seems to love the
> cinema, but ultimately
> feels unfulfilled. Once, because of the handsome
> Gary Cooper-type movies
> and themes, and again by Charlie Chaplain because of
> the
> boy-doesn't-get-girl theme that hurts Burke with its
> truth.
> Remember, this was from 1944, still deeply in the
> trenches, so to speak, of
> the world's bloodiest war. Burke is a patriot, a
> hero, but he's also a big
> brother/mentor. Very comforting to the folks back
> home, sending their kids
> over. There will be a Sgt Burke to look after him.
> We also get a home fires burning theme with the
> reoccurring praise of
> Juanita. Don't marry an ordinary girl...one who
> won't break out in goose
> bumps... one that won't cry for a Burke... etc.
> The thing that disappoints me about this story is
> that although I like all 3
> characters, and in fact like the story, it goes for
> sentimentality instead
> of the sucker punch. This is probably because it
> was written for its time,
> not for all time.
> The thing is, though, What I love most about
> Salinger is that there is,
> usually, a point in his stories where you go
> "OH...." and feel a tingle at
> the back of your neck. That unexpected "oh, THAT'S
> what's going on" which
> is lacking here. Burke's death was way too
> expected.
> Oh, and since Philly is a career Army man, why is he
> in Texas instead of the
> European or Asian theatre?
> I'm sure there's more to come, that's just off the
> top of my head. Can't
> wait to hear back.
> tina
>
>
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Received on Tue Jun 3 17:20:07 2003