Just when you thought it was safe to swim back into the literary waters of the 1950s
J.D. Salinger |
was doing (mainly writing, but not publishing, and having affairs with younger women).
Letters to One of His Lovers, Joyce Maynard* |
I’ve kept my Salinger opinions to myself, especially in college when practically everyone had read and loved Catcher and one friend could quote passages of ‘For Esmé – with Love and Squalor’ with moist eyes. Now we find out that Salinger may have been a little uncomfortably close to his model for Esmé. Couldn’t this all have been laid to rest with him? Well, not if you’re a publisher or media type looking to make a buck (or many more) from the treasure trove of newly discovered Salinger works.
The ultimate irony is that Salinger didn’t destroy these works when he had decades to do so and that it will be publishing ‘phonies’ who will make a ton from them. Ah well! It’s a matter of taste, I realize. If an undiscovered McCullers or Anthony Burgess novel should appear, I’d dive right in.
*Photo credit: EPA
Hmmm…sounds a little staged to me.
*Photo credit: EPA
Hmmm…sounds a little staged to me.
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