Reviews for If You Really Want to Hear About It: Writers on J.D. Salinger and His Work

The average rating for If You Really Want to Hear About It: Writers on J.D. Salinger and His Work based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2008-05-20 00:00:00 Joshua Sheffield Being a Salinger disciple, I was thrilled to discover this title. The collection of past writings concerning Salinger was released in the middle of my thesis-writing on Salinger's influence on Wes Anderson's films and would have been an ideal source to have for quoting articles that I merely referenced or summarized. A revision is in order! Alongside "With Love and Squalor," this book provides an excellent retrospective on Salinger's life and work. Certain passages elicit a level of intrigue that reaches the utmost fascination for the Salinger camp, and it's especially beneficial to read what feel like "exclusive" entries, such as the last legitimate interview Salinger ever granted and a new note by ex-flame Joyce Maynard. Pilgrimages to the Salinger compound in Cornish, New Hampshire, are also valuable in vicariously bringing this reader to his writing idol's doorstep, only to discover that it's best to leave the man alone. Though these writings depict an author far more complex, odd, and even sleazy than I might wish, by respecting Jerry's desire for privacy and continuing to appreciate his works, the idealized Salinger remains personally intact. However, such a glowing review of this collection did not seem possible at first. In the opening "pursuit of Salinger" section, typos and grammatical errors appear frequently, raising questions of who is to blame: the original writers or the "editor." These frustrating passages bog down the initial flow, but when better writers (or closer editing) emerge in the follow-up Critics section, the anthology really takes off.* But the most exciting discoveries of all are further clues that Salinger has continued to write and that, according to Maynard, a great number of manuscripts await publication after his death. In her year of living with Salinger, she was never allowed to see what she described as a "room-sized vault" supposedly filled with finished works, but she insists on its existence. The thought of one day reading new Salinger material is a salivating prospect and one that this overall fine collection encourages in a major way. *After glancing at the concluding list of sources, the numerous citation errors likely identify the editor as the sloppy culprit.

Review # 2 was written on 2008-08-02 00:00:00 Raul Rubio I'd like to read more from these authors and, in many ways, wish I did not dislike Salinger so much more now. I imagine that he will have to become, for me, like Hemingway. A favorite, irreplaceable author whose private life disturbs me so much that I wish I did not have to accept it rather than being able to wash my hands of him altogether. Faulkner once said to his daughters, I am told, "No one remembers Milton's daughters [who, I believe transcribed all of his work for him:]." Even Faulkner was an asshole. I have been able to boycott one popular icon entirely but Magnolia is the only loss I experience by excising Tom Cruise from my movie-watching. I admit that this is little solace to those who feel I should entirely boycott all assholes but I prefer to take the good produced by these men as recompense for their evils. Tom Cruise just doesn't have enough to tip the scales. His arrogance and asshole-status are far too large and painful to ever be outweighed by his acting or looks. I miss Katie Holmes pre-Cruise.