Monday, February 22, 2010

The Salinger Myth

Two interesting articles on the recently deceased J.D. Salinger.

One at Salon.com
One at NY Times

Salinger was only a recluse in that he shunned the media. Turns out, he didn't live in a cave, but appears to have pursued a life that on the surface was pretty much like the lives of us regular folks.

We often have a stake in the myth of our favorite heroes, be them actors, atheletes, writers or politicians, and those myths are too often sternly defended. The truth is so much better.

2 comments:

SocrMom78 said...

Some of our current celebrities could certainly take a leaf (or a couple of leaves) out of JD Salinger's book and shelter their private lives and families away from the relentless paparazzi coverage.

Kristin said...

I agree! In this world where the paparazzi follow what seems like everyone all the time, the thought that someone as famous as Salinger lived a normal life in Small Town USA is absolutely amazing. It also sounds as if the town really made it a point to respect his need for privacy, which is also amazing. Though I doubt the Star or Sun or whatever those tabloids are called would pay $$$$ for an author's photo, even one as elusive as J.D. He just doesn't have the draw of Brad Pitt.