Synopses & Reviews
In her much-anticipated memoir, Margaret A. Salinger writes about life with her famously reclusive father, J.D. Salinger -- offering a rare look into the man and the myth, what it is like to be his daughter, and the effect of such a charismatic figure on the girls and women closest to him. andlt;BRandgt; With generosity and insight, Ms. Salinger has written a book that is eloquent, spellbinding, and wise, yet at the same time retains the intimacy of a novel. Her story chronicles an almost cultlike environment of extreme isolation and early neglect interwoven with times of laughter, joy, and dazzling beauty. andlt;BRandgt; Ms. Salinger compassionately explores the complex dynamics of family relationships. Her story is one that seeks to come to terms with the dark parts of her life that, quite literally, nearly killed her, and to pass on a life-affirming heritage to her own child. andlt;BRandgt; The story of being a Salinger is unique; the story of being a daughter is universal. This book appeals to anyone, J.D. Salinger fan or no, who has ever had to struggle to sort out who she really is from whom her parents dreamed she might be.
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USA Today An unprecedented look at one of the country's most admired and reclusive writers.
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andlt;iandgt;The Jerusalem Reportandlt;/iandgt; Peggy's diverse achievements and experience make andlt;iandgt;Dream Catcherandlt;/iandgt; unlike any memoir...darkly comic.
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andlt;iandgt;Peopleandlt;/iandgt; A controversial, emotionally charged memoir.
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John Leonard andlt;iandgt;CBS News Sunday Morningandlt;/iandgt; Margaret A. Salinger has written a memoir that would break the heart even if her father weren't the reclusive author of andlt;iandgt;The Catcher in the Rye.andlt;/iandgt; Maybe there's a gene for splendid prose.
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andlt;iandgt;The New York Timesandlt;/iandgt; Salinger's daughter's truths are as mesmerizing as his fiction....There is information here that can't help altering, and enlarging, our estimation of Salinger's work....This memoir may well prompt a reassessment of the place of Salinger's fiction in American literature, and add a dimension to the marginalized mystic he's become to many.
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andlt;iandgt;Buffalo Art Newsandlt;/iandgt; I found myself gaining personal insights from this book that applied to me both as a son and as a father. I could not ask for much more than that. There are, I believe, lessons here for all of us.
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The Telegraph (UK) Salinger's writing is vivid and strong.
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andlt;iandgt;Academic Writing Reviewandlt;/iandgt; Margaret A. Salinger's work shows the brilliance of what can happen when a woman's way of seeing is adroitly applied to a man's writing....Rarely does a memoir do so much to make readers reconsider a body of fiction by a well-known writer....This memoir has become one of the best books to surface in the world of Salinger criticism.
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andlt;iandgt;The Washington Postandlt;/iandgt; Has just about everything you'd look for in a Salinger story. Clear writing. Edgy characters. A dash of death. A pinch of sex. A dollop of loneliness. And lots and lots of weirdness.
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andlt;iandgt;Richmond Times-Dispatch (VA)andlt;/iandgt; By fathering Margaret, or Peggy, America's best-known creator of precocious fictional siblings begot a daughter with a level of brilliance and moral fiber that has proved capable of taking on both the challenge of the flesh-and-blood J. D. Salinger and the mystique he has gone to vast lengths to cultivate....A master interpreter of her father's work, Peggy skillfully balances her incisive readings of the stories with her father's motives and behaviors. What makes it so remarkable is the brilliance with which, in describing the process of winning her own salvation, the author deconstructs the Salinger myth.
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andlt;iandgt;The Telegraphandlt;/iandgt; (UK) Salinger's writing is vivid and strong.
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andlt;iandgt;USA Todayandlt;/iandgt; An unprecedented look at one of the country's most admired and reclusive writers.
About the Author
Margaret A. Salinger earned her B.A. from Brandeis University summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa; earned an M.Phil. from Oxford University; and attended Harvard Divinity School as a Williams Scholar. She lives with her husband and son.
Table of Contents
andlt;Bandgt;Contentsandlt;/Bandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Introductionandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Part Oneandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;A Family Historyand#58;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;1900-1955andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;iandgt;"How my parents were occupied and all before they had me"andlt;/iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;1. "Sometimes Thro' the Mirror Blue"andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;2. Landsmanandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;3. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spyandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;4. Detached F-a-c-u-l-t-i-e-sandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;5. We'll Bolt the Doorandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;6. Reclusionandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Part Twoandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Cornishand#58;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;1955-1968andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;7. Dream Child, Real Childandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;8. Babes in the Woodsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;9. Border Crossingandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;10. Snipersandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;11. "However Innumerable Beings Are, I Vow to Save Them"andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;12. Glimpsesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;13. "There She Weaves by Night and Day"andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;14. Journey to Camelotandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;15. Boot Camp and Iced Teaandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;16. The Birds and the Beesand#58; Hitchcock'sandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;17. A Perfect Tenandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;18. Notes from the Undergroundandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;19. "To Sir with Love"andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;20. Safe Harborand#58; A Brief Interlude Between Islandsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Part Threeandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Beyond Cornishandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;21. Island Reduxandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;22. Christmasandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;23. Midwinterandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;24. Springtime in Paradiseand#58; andlt;iandgt;The Producersandlt;/iandgt;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;25. Woodstockandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;26. Lost Mooringsandlt;BRandgt;1andlt;BRandgt;27. Kindred Spiritsandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;28. The Baby Vanishesandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;29. A Mind in Portandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;30. "Rowing in Eden"andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;31. Woman Overboardand#33;andlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;32. On and Off the Fast Trackandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;33. Weaving My Own Lifeandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;34. Awakeningandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Afterwordandlt;BRandgt;andlt;BRandgt;Acknowledgments