Letters to J. D. Salinger

Rating:
Summary: The Joys of Reading Other People's Mail
Review: As J.D. Salinger, famous reclusive author of "Catcher in the Rye," rebuffs all requests for interviews and is said to consign fan letters to the garbage, most of these letters have a tenuous air. At least the writers can be assured their letters will be read, if not by Mr. Salinger (shame on him!), by other Salinger junkies.

The letters are divided into sections from Writers and Readers, Students and Teachers, and From the Web. The letters run the gamut from a touching letter to Holden "thanks for being your sixteen year old self forever" from Alma Luz Villanueva to a question from Joanne Cavanaugh Simpson: " In the end, I guess you, like Holden, decided not to ever tell anybody anything again. But even so, don't you miss everybody?"

Some letters are in the form of poems, some are breezy and informal ("Howzit goin' Jerry?"), others are painfully stiff, but almost all have the hope that J.D. will at some date, sometime read them. There is the query from a young poet in England that would like to know the proper pronunciation of "Zooey" since that is his name. His mother, in an excess of enthusiasm for Salinger, named him after that notable character, but never was quite sure how it was pronounced. An admiring e-mail from Nicole Corrow says, "--you're SO *fantastically* BRILLIANT you could make me relate to a whisk broom." The only one I found one huge yawn was a woman who quoted a rigidly boring section (looong) of her doctoral thesis in hopes, I presume, the master would read it and be properly impressed.

Editor Chris Kubica provides a lively introduction and Will Hochman does the honors in a postscript that nicely summarizes what we have read. I found the book sometimes amusing and frequently thoughtful. This is a handsomely produced book that would make a nice gift to your favorite Salingerophile.

Rating:
Summary: The Joys of Reading Other People's Mail
Review: As J.D. Salinger, famous reclusive author of "Catcher in the Rye," rebuffs all requests for interviews and is said to consign fan letters to the garbage, most of these letters have a tenuous air. At least the writers can be assured their letters will be read, if not by Mr. Salinger (shame on him!), by other Salinger junkies.

The letters are divided into sections from Writers and Readers, Students and Teachers, and From the Web. The letters run the gamut from a touching letter to Holden "thanks for being your sixteen year old self forever" from Alma Luz Villanueva to a question from Joanne Cavanaugh Simpson: " In the end, I guess you, like Holden, decided not to ever tell anybody anything again. But even so, don't you miss everybody?"

Some letters are in the form of poems, some are breezy and informal ("Howzit goin' Jerry?"), others are painfully stiff, but almost all have the hope that J.D. will at some date, sometime read them. There is the query from a young poet in England that would like to know the proper pronunciation of "Zooey" since that is his name. His mother, in an excess of enthusiasm for Salinger, named him after that notable character, but never was quite sure how it was pronounced. An admiring e-mail from Nicole Corrow says, "--you're SO *fantastically* BRILLIANT you could make me relate to a whisk broom." The only one I found one huge yawn was a woman who quoted a rigidly boring section (looong) of her doctoral thesis in hopes, I presume, the master would read it and be properly impressed.

Editor Chris Kubica provides a lively introduction and Will Hochman does the honors in a postscript that nicely summarizes what we have read. I found the book sometimes amusing and frequently thoughtful. This is a handsomely produced book that would make a nice gift to your favorite Salingerophile.

Rating:
Summary: Impressions and emotions of people from all walks of life
Review: Collaboratively edited by Chris Kubica (operator of the jdsalinger.com website) and Will Hochman (Assistant Professor of English, Southern Connecticut State University) Letters To J. D. Salinger is a remarkable compendium over more than one hundred and fifty personal letters addressed to J. D. Salinger, the renowned American author of the timeless classic "The Catcher in the Rye." The diverse impressions and emotions of people from all walks of life who were influenced by Salinger's literary masterpiece makes for a rewarding reading with insight into the depths of the power truly great writing can have upon a human generation. Letters To J. D. Salinger is a unique and highly recommended reading for the legions of J. D. Salinger enthusiasts.