Re: Andrew's musings.......
Camille Scaysbrook (verona_beach@geocities.com)
Mon, 15 Jun 1998 11:16:55 +1000
> FINALLY, I was wondering.....................
Wow that's a big pause there (:
>which Salinger work do any
> of you feel most depicts his obvious sympathies for Eastern philosophical
> thinking? I was thinking maybe 'Teddy' did in 'Nine Stories', but I'd be
> interested to find out what other people thought. Please reply to this
> inquiry! =)
Hmmm ... my opinion on this changes all the time. Sometimes he marries the
Zen `aesthetic' as well as the philosophy, sometimes these things are
separate and sometimes the Zen is somewhat sublimated, which is what I like
best; not necessarily the ones where Zen is a named theme. For example. I
tend to dislike `Teddy' a little because the message is too `cut and paste'
and didactic. I prefer it when it's a nameless, ineffable part of the
journey, as in TCIR. So to name a story in which the aesthetic - i.e. a
short, perfect utterance - and the philosophy are married ... hmm. That's
tricky. I guess TCIR is to me the closest to that - ironic given it's
Salinger's *longest* utterance (but within the context of novels is fairly
short and compact) ... I'll have to think about this one though.
Camille
verona_beach@geocities.com
@ THE ARTS HOLE
www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Theater/6442