Re: BANANAFISH digest 120

Andrew Youn (andrew.youn@yale.edu)
Wed, 08 Oct 1997 22:25:08 -0400 (EDT)

> Oh yeah...and lest I forget, one of the neatest intros to a book:

> "If there is an amateur reader still left in the world - or anybody
> who just reads and runs - I ask him or her, with untellable affection
> and gratitude, to split the dedication of this book four ways with my
> wife and children."

I also was pleased with his dedication to the amateur reader. But I also
feel that just by writing to this list, I am stopping being an amateur
reader and more and more of a damn analyst. I mean, I like his stories
because they're so great, and this is exactly the reason I'm so tempted to
analyze his stories. It's a dilemma of sorts, because I too, really
identify with the amateur reader. That and the fact that I'd really like
to be able to split the dedication of one of his books.

But my point is: Salinger doesn't like us talking about Salinger. I don't
either, in a way, I think that his writing is strictly to be enjoyed and
not ripped apart. This disturbs me. Thoughts?

Someone mentioned the cheap volumes of Salinger that you can buy: My
interpretation of the Little Brown paperback editions of Salinger that
you see floating around is that they're great - I am sick of paying more
than ten bucks for a good novel, and this way, his books are accessible to
more people. They are a bit ugly, but what the hell.