just after the war with the eskimos
Brendan McKennedy (the.tourist@mailexcite.com)
Sun, 30 Nov 1997 00:48:36 -0700
Sorry about that last post, folks...
A bit of a mix-up on my part.
I'm new to this whole Internet thing...
While I'm in the Salinger sort of mood, I just thought I'd drop in another thought.
(Let me know when you all are sick of me, and I shall retire.)
Reading Catcher and all of the Glass stories is wonderful and immersive, and they
certainly appeal most to me as a human being...
But as a writer, I think Salinger's best stories are the ones no one talks about,
i.e. Uncle Wiggly and especially Just Before the War With the Eskimos--particularly
the latter.
Eskimos, I think, is the single most perfect short story I've ever read--in the same
way that I believe To Kill a Mockingbird is the best novel I've read. (Don't tie
your nooses, friends, please; Catcher is a VERY close second.)
Salinger's craft as a writer is rarely discussed outside of the Glass stories, but
if I'm not in the mood for painful humanity, the Glasses can frankly get on my Nerves.
I realize that Uncle Wiggly is a Glass story by association (where we finally find
out how Walt died), but really it's just a good story about suburban madness--no
previous knowledge or further reading necessary.
And Eskimos is brilliant. It's light, concise, realistic, and isolated.
I don't know. I'm just pontificating at this point, really. But this is the first
time I've been among those who love Salinger as much as I do.
I'd be interested to hear what everyone thinks.
B.McKennedy
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