Thursday, January 28, 2010

In Memoriam

And when I say "J.D, Salinger", you say what?


The Cather in the Rye, betcha'...



But when I noted this line on my Yahoo! email :

News Alert: J.D. Salinger, Author of 'The Catcher in the Rye' Is Dead at 91

I said "For Esmé - with Love and Squalor".

I was startled to read this news, once because J.D. Salinger died, and again that I only realized he had been still living all these years when I read the news of his death. Perhaps it was because  he never really existed for me. Did not knew a thing about Salinger as all I cared about was  this catcher in the rye.
Or I recalled Esmé's story because this was the first one of his stories I read? The one I recall each time when I receive a letter as friendly smile to pull me out of my own mess. The one I recalled when I was trying to yawn with my mouth closed as a proper girl will. The one I recall because:

" You take a really sleepy man, Esmé, and he always stands a chance of again becoming a man with all his fac-with all his f-a-c-u-1-t-i-e-s intact."

6 comments:

Paul said...

"A Perfect Day for Bananafish" is an amazing piece. So much in so few words and so courageous and careful and moving. I admire J.D. for his fierce protection of his privacy, his refusal to do the famous author publicity merry-go-round and his refusal to churn out books for a market. He wrote what he wanted to write and he lived how he wanted to live. RIP, a great writer.

Ana said...

I also liked “The Laughing Man” the first time when I read Nine Stories. I was about ten and I was quite infatuated with adventure stories , Poe and E.T.A. Hoffmann. Probably I did not quite get the "human" factor in it, but loved it no less...

simonacratel said...

Si mie mi-au placut povestirile lui, chiar ma gindeam sa le citesc si in engleza. The Cather in the rye e una din cartile mele favorite.

Nu am stiut ca a continuat sa scrie, dar nu a mai vrut sa publice, asta mi-era necunoscut pina acum. Am crezut ca pur si simplu s-a ocupat de altceva.

Probabil ca acum dupa moartea lui vor fi publicate niste texte. De abia astept.

PS: pentru tine, te rog cind apare romanul "Fii barbatul meu", sa nu-l citesti. Asteapta alt roman de mine. Poate in toamna lui 2011 sa bag "Podul", care iti garantez ca o sa-ti placa. Dar "Fii barbatul meu" este un text brutal si cinic.

Ana said...

Nu-i bai, eu nici macar nu am stiut ca mai traieste.Casteva dinte textele mai vechi in engleza se gasesc si on-line....

OK. Astept Podul....

simonacratel said...

Eu am stiut ca mai traieste si ca se ascunde de publicitate si de cititori.

Ce sa-i faci, unii au mai mult succes decit au chef sa suporte, iar altii nici nu exista in literatura, dar si-ar dori macar 5 a suta din succesul altora. :)

Julie said...

I love Salinger's work! You bring up an interesting point when you say you did not know a thing about him and just loved Catcher in the Rye. I'd rather not know about an author's personal life. In college, we had to learn all about many authors' lives. I was often disappointed when a writer or poet I admired wasn't so nice in real life. I guess I'd rather hero worship them from afar. But they're only human, too. Good post, Ana. Have a beautiful weekend!