Subject: A Polite Request
95515828@csunt2.napier.ac.uk
Date: Fri Jun 13 1997 - 11:11:15 GMT
Dear Fellow Bananafishers,
Greetings. After a period of happy lurking, I feel confident
enought to say hello. My name is Rob Pearson, and I live in
Aberdeen, Scotland. My interest in JD began after reading
'Catcher' in my first year at university, and I went on to
write my thesis on the family Glass, back in 1991. One book
I found extremely useful was Eberhard Alsen's 'Salinger's
Glass Family Stories as a Composite Novel.' Essentially,
Alsen states that it's possible to read the stories two
ways: one, as charting Buddy's progress and maturation as a
writer - the other as an account of Seymour's progress
towards self-knowledge. Alsen goes on to argue that what
binds the stories together are various aspects of Hindu and
Vedanta philosophy, and he makes much of Salinger's studies
at the Vivekananda Centre in New York. I've been scanning
the Bananafish list for quite a while, but I've only heard
Alsen mentioned once. Has anyone else out there read this
book - and if so, what do they make of it ?
Also, I have a request to make. Can anyone make my year and
supply me with four absent stories from my tally of 18 of
the uncollected ? I've been able to trace most over the past
seven years, mostly through Aberdeen Uni's excellent inter
library loan service. 'Hapworth' emerged from their sagging
shelves of bound 'New Yorker's, and 'This Sandwich' howling
and shrieking from the covers of 'The Armchair Esquire'. But
we're not too hot on back issues of 'Esquire' or The U of KC
Review. Consequently, 'Go See Eddie', 'A Girl I Knew',
'Heart of a Broken Story' and 'A Young Girl in 1941...' have
all remained maddeningly out of reach. Does anyone fancy a
Scottish friend for life, not to mention my first born
child? I'm at :31 Chestnut Row, Berryden, Aberdeen,
SCOTLAND,AB2 3SE. Naturally, I'll cover all costs.
'Orra best,
-RP.
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