In Search of J. D. Salinger (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)
At a glance:
- Author: Ian Hamilton
- First Published: 1988
- Type of Work: Biography
- Time of Work: 1935-1965
- Setting: New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Europe, and New Hampshire
- Principal Characters: J. D. Salinger, Ian Hamilton
- Genres: Nonfiction, Biography
- Subjects: 1950’s, 1960’s, Twentieth century, Authors or writers, 1940’s, 1930’s, Novelists
- Locales: Europe, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire
The unauthorized biography is one of the strange subgenres to emerge in the late twentieth century, along with mystery novels in which fictional characters pursue real-life criminals, autobiographical journalism, and other hard-to-categorize works which suggest a sort of genre meltdown taking place in modern literature. It was formerly considered proper for a biographer to wait until his subject was at least on his deathbed, but things move faster these days, possibly as a subtle by-product of electronic technology. Furthermore, books about a living though refractory subject have proved...
[The entire page is 1867 words long]
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