When I started I hated the way it was written. Various quotes? How can that flow? It eventually worked out well but I bet I missed some context given that I didn't know many of those quoted and didn't want to spend time looking them up. Like others I liked Salinger's writings as a young adult so I won't go into that. It was interesting to see how highly the authors paint Salinger at the start and how negatively he is portrayed at the end. All justified. Still leaves a lot untold and many questions but I'm willing to bet it's the most comprehensive yet. This book must have come to me at a good time. I'd actually watched the documentary just a week or so before & hadn't noticed the book was the official companion when I grabbed it at the library. I liked this book a lot better than the documentary. It's got the same flaws as its counterpart - a lot of repetition, making a grand mythology of the smallest phrase or happening, etc. - but somehow that was okay. This was light reading when I needed it, & I learned a lot about ol' Salinger. More than I did from the documentary. I guess that's going to happen after 700 pages. I felt like I could kinda get lost in these pages - no matter how little energy I had, I could turn to this book. I really can't say that about too many books I've read recently.Anyhow, highly recommended to anyone who is a fan of Salinger - & here's to hoping we don't have to wait too long for all the unreleased material.
Too many sweeping generalizations. Too many quotes from Shields himself.
—Elizabeth
I've heard "horror stories" about Salinger. This should be a good book.
—jcua
Good job! Lots of research on someone who 'hid in clear sight.'
—bren
In a word...fantastic!!!
—Purple
SM
—yolandita03
