Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction
 | von J. D. Salinger
ISBN: 0316769517 |
Two beautiful, empathic stories
I love RHTRBC - it catches so many little details about people, it's kind of funny in the way reality is, it's as warm and empathic as Salinger generally is. I love Seymour too, although I'd be less likely to recommend it, I think it takes a certain kind of pensive reader who has absolutely no concern for "the story." It's the kind of thing I wish I'd get paid for writing, yet doubt I could pull off so well as easily as I think, an unstructured memoir, sort of stuttering in places about an obsession you can't quite get out, will never be happy with how you express it because it's not all yours to express. I do wonder if the author means for Seymour to be seen as the flawless near-angel his brother sees him as, or is it more a study in the effects he (the admiration and his suicide) had on his brother, but even if he meant the former, I always settle on viewing it as the latter.
Salinger's Masterpiece
Each of us, as readers, has a book (at least one, maybe more) that we can honestly say has changed our life, or at very least our outlook on life. For me, and many other Salingerians, this is the one. This book, I feel, is Salinger's masterpiece, more so even than the timeless "Catcher in the Rye", this book captures so much of what Salinger has to say about people, poetry, spirituality, and life itself in all its complexity. These stories are two of (Salinger's narrative alter-ego) Buddy Glass's tales of his older brother Seymour. In them we see first the gross misunderstanding of Seymour by his shallow in-laws (brilliantly characterized), then the full and knowing true understanding of Seymour by his brother. It is a truly touching and magnificent piece of literature by one of the 20th century's greats
The most marvelous text in human history
Buddy is the narrator of both the stories in this volume, so we can expect Salinger to stand in for Buddy in most of the pages. I'll declare up front that to me Seymour: An Introduction is the best piece of written text that has been published. The experimental monologue, which borders on the stream of conscience, is marvelously accomplished. The business about the bird watching, and Gog, the attitude (in italics) of it all is so very special, at the same time repellent and endearing. Buddy (and Salinger) is a profound and complex (and profoundly complex) human being, who by definition annoys other people because of his unclassifiable persona, but holds the key to many, many wonderful perspectives about life and God, and how should one take the dissapointments about both.OK, now you can tear this review into pieces, but write to me while you're doing it, and remember to drop a line to Gog, the real flesh-and-bone Seymour, who also happens to be my dog.
Siehe auch: | > Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction |
|
