A Reader's Guide to J. D. Salinger: (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Alsen's excellent book is a vital resource for students, aficionados, and critics....Essential. All collections supporting study of 20th-century American literature.”–Choice

“With Alsen's book available, teachers of American Studies should see more term papers dealing with the reclusive Salinger. This book provides a solid guide.”–JASAT

Product Description

Best known for The Catcher in the Rye, which continues to be read and discussed by secondary school students, undergraduates, and scholars, Salinger also wrote numerous shorter works. This reference covers his entire oeuvre, including autobiographical elements in his writings.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood Press (November 30, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0313310785
• ISBN-13: 978-0313310782
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,547,402 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars See More, Buddy, December 15, 2004

By	Mark Champion "autumnfair" (San Antonio, TX United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As an overview, Alsen's book certainly fills a void insofar as its thoroughness in covering Salinger's entire literary output is concerned; the works are covered chronologically by publishing date and cross-references abound. Particulary welcome is the coverage of Salinger's lesser-known, pre-CATCHER IN THE RYE stories, and the Glass family is also meticulously chronicled in an appendix. Ardent fans of Salinger's ouvre, however, might be a bit put off by Alsen's recurring theme of Salinger's-life-in-his-fiction approach. Not that this approach is uninteresting in itself, but it can be distracting to those New Critical types who object to the intentional fallacy. Alsen also omits a few connections concerning the Glass Family in his analyses; for example, in his discussions of 'Uncle Wiggily In Connecticut' he seems to miss that Eloise's deceased lover Walt is in fact Walter Glass, and therefore fails to consider such implications as the possibility that Eloise's daughter Ramona is also Walt's daughter. And while the book is titled 'A READER'S GUIDE. . .' Alsen states from the beginning that he wrote it so that he himself would have such a book handy. Maybe he should have titled it, 'A WRITER'S GUIDE. . .' Curiously, Alsen refers to himself in places in the third person, presumably to give an objective aura to his work. Humble guy. Either that or he's actually Buddy Glass in disguise. Things that make you go 'Hmmm . . .'