“Salinger” – the Documentary Film on the Notoriously Reclusive Author

“Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven by some demon.”

– J.D. Salinger

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Despite an all-star ensemble interviewed to bear on the life of J.D. Salinger, the author himself would probably wince (to put it mildly) at a documentary film probing into his life and work.  Salinger, who died in 2010, fiercely guarded his privacy.  To say I understand his attitude towards the limelight could insinuate that I have some experience with which to empathize.  I do not; I’m not a best-selling author hounded by the press.  But I can fantasize that Salinger’s reluctance for the spotlight has something to do with an attitude I share with the man who crafted Holden Caulfield – that the world, with its million eyes and crushing hug, inevitably runs the risk of destroying what it cherishes.  And that a writer, properly tortured, wants no part of it.

But what do I know.

The film is set for limited release September 6th.

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