Re: those tiny little things that make it all worthwhile.
Lauren N Passot (madbravo@juno.com)
Mon, 14 Sep 1998 17:50:25 -0500
On Mon, 14 Sep 1998 17:27:30 +0100 craig king <craig.king@cwcom.net>
writes:
>hello hello . . .
>
>apart from the theories of interpretation i've been enjoying reading,
>something else occured to me. less academic but valid. clearly we
>all love salinger. hell, if we didn't we wouldn't be here. the
>peculiar
>thing about salinger for me, is that when i think about franny i think
>
>about martinis, when i think about zooey i think about that
>splendidly ugly shower curtain. it's more than a meticulous
>attention to detail, for me, it's that they remain as vivid in my mind
>
>as the words these characters speak. more than any other of my
>favourite writers (pynchon, ballard, kerouac, etc.) salinger seems to
>capture the intense pleasure of the object. as object. not as
>symbol, metaphor, etc. but as object. in all its integrity. numerous
>ideas fall into place as i write concerning this object-love of mine
>but i'm interested to see if any one else is interested. if not, never
>
>mind. if so, do tell, as it is the peculiar sharpness of image i see
>when thinking about salinger that makes me love him, in the end,
>more than most other scribes. i've always enjoyed lengthy
>discussions of theory but i also believe that there's much
>substance in those intangibles that bind an author to a reader. for
>me, it's those tricky, can't-quite-place-the-why moments that make
>salinger who he is. well, what he is, perhaps. as for who he is? like
>lord lucan with a pen . . .
>
>hope for a response,
>
>craig king
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I never use the word "empathy" because I believe that one can not ever
experience the exact same feelings as another, in the same way because of
life experience etc. Blah blah blah. Yet during your epistle I can nearly
empathize. To say the least and to put it tritely, I know exactly what
your talking about. I think now that I actually have thought about what
you've said that a major reason that I keep reading Salinger is because a
true Salinger fanatic knows that you don't merely read the words printed
on his massively printed pages but you live them. I'm not talking about
some worksheet for Lit. class sappy and crass about how one lived an
adventure vicariously through the text no, something much more recondite
than this. I am speaking of what you said that when I use some one's
bathroom and nonchalantly catch a glimpse of a gaudy shower curtain in
the mirror I think immediately of Zooey. When I'm in a restaurant
skimming the menu and come upon chicken soup or a chicken sandwich I
think immediately of Franny. War Veterans=Buddy, the film "Low
Life"=Holden, see THOSE phonies=again Holden etc. I live it. It gives me
an odd feeling of pleasure. I relish it. I know what you mean.
By the way watch the film "Low Life" starring Rory Cochrane and tell me
if you see a parallel (aside from the subtle mention of Salinger) from
John to Holden *keep Mr. Antolini in mind.
Best,
Lauren
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