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Private War Of J. D. Salinger (2013)

by David Shields(Favorite Author)

3.6 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1476747032 (ISBN13: 9781476747033)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

Simon & Schuster Export

review 1: A little exhausting and redundant sometimes, but you can rip through it if you're a fan. Most fascinating for me was his WWII service and the claim that he suffered an intense form of PTSD as a result of his war experiences. Seems like an awful family man but I didn't know the guy so I guess that's neither here nor there. I did learn that his son acted as one of the jock frat guys in Revenge of the Nerds (not Ogre, unfortunately) which made me happy.
review 2: Enjoyment of "Salinger" will only come if you start the project aware of what you're getting into. This is not a traditional biography. The technique used by Shields and Salerno is the topic of much divisiveness among readers, and for good reason. What may be called the intention of any good biography - t... moreo examine the life of the subject and what made them who they were - occurs only in the book's final few pages. The rest is an oft-unfocused collection of notes and observances that understandably befuddles readers looking for a cohesive whole. "Salinger" is not that book. What Shields and Salerno do excel at is exhaustive research. A man who allowed few people, including members of his own family, to get very close is a tough nut to crack for authors attempting to unravel what made arguably America's most popular 20th Century fiction writers tick. Shields and Salerno have done an admirably job of triangulating the frustrating final 50 years of Jerome David Salinger's life, and positing why the author did many of the confounding things he did (move to Cornish, flirt in letters to girls 30 years his junior, insist upon privacy while seeking out the limelight at odd intervals, etc.). The overall effect of the work is not to draw you closer to the Glasses, the Caulfields or even Salinger himself. He is ever-present in the book, for sure, just as he is ever-present in his fiction. But if you read this book looking for the elusive answer to the question, "Why?" I'm very certain you won't leave it with a clear answer. There are also some odd stylistic choices. While I didn't personally care for the oral history presentation, I don't think it deserves the ridicule and disdain it's received some several folks in the publishing world. The decision to footnote everything at the end, and not to introduce several prominent characters who are quoted extensively in the work, is a bit jarring for the reader. The far greater sin, in my opinion, is the strange stream-of-consciousness explanation of what Salinger is doing with "Nine Stories" that takes up much of the middle half of the volume, and the repetitious nature of many of the conclusions reached by Salerno and Shields. The first time Shields writes of Vedanta and its renunciation of the world as it relates to Salinger's hermitism, it's insightful. The 30th time, not so much.Still, "Salinger" is an excellent read for those already familiar with the life of the reclusive author and a perfect way to get ready for his new fiction, set to begin its publication next year. less

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