The reclusive author wrote one of my favourite books. And no, it's not THE CATCHER IN THE RYE (which happens to be my least favourite Salinger book). One of my favourite books, one which I haven't read in many moons and now I should reallyr revisit is FRANNY AND ZOOEY. There's just something about it that sticks with me through the years -- from the minute I read it. And promptly reread it. Salinger's three books (FRANNY & ZOOEY, RAISE HIGH THE ROOF BEAMS, CARPENTERS & SEYMOUR: AN INTRODUCTION and NINE STORIES) all contain (to some degree) one family -- the Glass Family. The children had a tendency to be child geniuses. In fact, one of the reasons I probably love the film THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS so much is that is reminds me quite a lot of J.D. Salinger's writing. Strangely, CATCHER IN THE RYE is actually something of an aberration in the author's work since it stands alone among his books as totally unrelated to the others. For what it's worth, I do prefer the others. CATCHER was an OK book but, for all it's fame and notoriety, to me it remains a rather forgettable novel whereas FRANNY & ZOOEY still remains vivid in my memory even though I haven't read it in literally decades. But I'm think I shall dig out my copy once again. And in honour of the passing of the author, I shall read it while soaking in a bathtub -- a damp washcloth over my head to ward off the brimstone.
Friday, January 29, 2010
J.D. SALINGER 1919-2010. The reclusive author wrote one of my favourite books. And no, it's not THE CATCHER IN THE RYE (which happens to be my least favourite Salinger book). One of my favourite books, one which I haven't read in many moons and now I should reallyr revisit is FRANNY AND ZOOEY. There's just something about it that sticks with me through the years -- from the minute I read it. And promptly reread it. Salinger's three books (FRANNY & ZOOEY, RAISE HIGH THE ROOF BEAMS, CARPENTERS & SEYMOUR: AN INTRODUCTION and NINE STORIES) all contain (to some degree) one family -- the Glass Family. The children had a tendency to be child geniuses. In fact, one of the reasons I probably love the film THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS so much is that is reminds me quite a lot of J.D. Salinger's writing. Strangely, CATCHER IN THE RYE is actually something of an aberration in the author's work since it stands alone among his books as totally unrelated to the others. For what it's worth, I do prefer the others. CATCHER was an OK book but, for all it's fame and notoriety, to me it remains a rather forgettable novel whereas FRANNY & ZOOEY still remains vivid in my memory even though I haven't read it in literally decades. But I'm think I shall dig out my copy once again. And in honour of the passing of the author, I shall read it while soaking in a bathtub -- a damp washcloth over my head to ward off the brimstone.
The reclusive author wrote one of my favourite books. And no, it's not THE CATCHER IN THE RYE (which happens to be my least favourite Salinger book). One of my favourite books, one which I haven't read in many moons and now I should reallyr revisit is FRANNY AND ZOOEY. There's just something about it that sticks with me through the years -- from the minute I read it. And promptly reread it. Salinger's three books (FRANNY & ZOOEY, RAISE HIGH THE ROOF BEAMS, CARPENTERS & SEYMOUR: AN INTRODUCTION and NINE STORIES) all contain (to some degree) one family -- the Glass Family. The children had a tendency to be child geniuses. In fact, one of the reasons I probably love the film THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS so much is that is reminds me quite a lot of J.D. Salinger's writing. Strangely, CATCHER IN THE RYE is actually something of an aberration in the author's work since it stands alone among his books as totally unrelated to the others. For what it's worth, I do prefer the others. CATCHER was an OK book but, for all it's fame and notoriety, to me it remains a rather forgettable novel whereas FRANNY & ZOOEY still remains vivid in my memory even though I haven't read it in literally decades. But I'm think I shall dig out my copy once again. And in honour of the passing of the author, I shall read it while soaking in a bathtub -- a damp washcloth over my head to ward off the brimstone.
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For me it was CATCHER but I can see why some might prefer FRANNY.
I've not read the rest of Salinger but I know I should. Something nobody ever seems to have commented on is that in Kinsella's SHOELESS JOE Salinger appears as a character. In the film version (FIELD OF DREAMS) both name and race were changed and the part was played by James Earl Jones.
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