Subject: Reclusion? Delighted!
Smmrs@aol.com
Date: Thu Mar 23 2000 - 21:42:35 EST
In a message dated Thu, 23 Mar 2000 9:08:23 PM Eastern Standard Time, denis jonnes <djengltl@mbox.nc.kyushu-u.ac.jp> writes:
> To Benjamin, and all--
>
> You're raising what for me remains the most interesting question about
> Salinger, something which neither of the biographies really tries to
> answer. It is, I feel, key not only to the life, but also to the
> "work"--and obviously this incredible reticence (is that the right
> word?) is one of the things that attracts us, i.e. readers. My own
> still vague feeling about this is that it goes back to the war--pre-war
> Salinger was, according to the biographies, a conventionally "sociable"
> adolescent--he dated, hung out, travelled with friends, tried various
> jobs--fairly routine and to-be-expected. The war changed all that. As
> *Seymour: an Intro." suggests (i.e., the Seymour as Salinger alter
> ego)--something in Salinger died. He lived on, but was never quite the
> same--or, rather, became the Salinger we now know. Salinger was trauma
> survivor, or non-survivor, depending on your point of view.
>
> Denis Jonnes
>
>
Yes! The "rumours" of a stop at a sanitorium and later a monestary make think...S-A-L-I-N-G-E-R. There it is aain that number seven...
My first impression of S:AI (or Seymour I) was awe. The pages of physical descriptions were genuine enough for me..Buddy has this tendancy to fawn over S. at times, giving him a superman quality but at the same time saying he is very akward...
It just doesn't hold up with RHTRBC. thats the one that gave me more insight to the Glass family, (and Salinger) than any biography thats out there..the energy in the book (and in the limo) is unsurpassed!
As an addendum, before I leave for the weekend, let me say that De Daumier-Smith's Blue Period is my favorite Salinger work, overall. Another reading of that had me once again laughing out loud (any thoughts on the "high, thin moan" is appreciated) . Jean de Daumier-Smith. What a legend this guy Salinger is. What insight.
thank ye
-smmrs
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