J.D.Salinger has a special place in modern literature. Who else is so famous for one book and for being so reclusive? That’s why I can totally recommend Ian Hamilton’s attempt to puncture the myth,
In Search of J.D, Salinger. To do justice to it, I’ll quote what they say on the back cover:
“… a sophisticated exploration of JDS’s life and writing and a sustained debate about the nature of literary biography, it’s ethical legitimacy..” The book’s title is very accurate: it’s not just about JDS, but is also about the detective-work that Hamilton did to write it, and how he ended up fighting JDS in court, wrestling with ethical questions about research and “fair use”.
As for the JDS content, this was new to me:
Quote:
|
It was in 1948 that [JDS] had his first direct authorial dealings with the movie industry. Darryl Zanuck bought the screen rights of “Uncle Wiggily in Conneticut” and, in 1949, turned it into a weepie of the year called My Foolish Heart. The movie was a big success. Its theme song won an Oscar and is still a nightclub standard.
|
Hamilton goes on to say that
“the film was a travesty, even by Hollywood standards….the shamelessly lachrymose screenplay is barely polite to the original.” If any reader of
The Catcher In The Rye wonders why Holden Caulfield rants so bitterly against Hollywood phonies – well, look no further than the treatment given to JDS's short story a year or so previously.
This version of
My Foolish Heart from 1955 has the advantage of giving Ethel Ennis her MB debut, afaik:-
My verdict: I’d like to say, “Let’s have a round of applause for Ethel!” because she does a great job with the singing, but personally I find this kind of languid rumination about love all but unbearable. And perhaps not entirely by chance, it’s a mood that reminds me of those old movies: the sophisticated, sentimental couple leaving the dance floor for the verandah, where they revel in (or agonise about) their relationship, blowing their cigarette smoke into the night air with oh such casual elegance.