Is Salinger the greatest American author?

>>9336887
No, but he's good, and Catcher in the Rye strikes a very specific chord to many people, and it is one of the best books in American literature. Too small an output to call him the greatest

>>9336887
Why was he so mistrusting and reclusive? He had a fit over some high school interviewing him then it being published in major papers, which made him go full on recluse.

My father actually met Salinger a few times as a child since he stopped for gas at the place he worked at as an attendant. He said he was a tall and imposing figure who would barely talk to you. Had at least two dogs in his car most times that yapped like crazy. Also said his manager specifically told him not to bother him or bring up his work in any way. My aunt also continued to live in that town and would see Salinger as an old man with his wife (caretaker?) in the grocery store up until he died. Said he became a cranky and decrepit old man who scowled and complained to his wife. I have always been interested in him since due to this connection, but I still can't quite figure him out as a person.

>>9336887
Damn right he is, OP.

>>9337034
>My father actually met Salinger a few times as a child since he stopped for gas at the place he worked at as an attendant. He said he was a tall and imposing figure who would barely talk to you. Had at least two dogs in his car most times that yapped like crazy. Also said his manager specifically told him not to bother him or bring up his work in any way. My aunt also continued to live in that town and would see Salinger as an old man with his wife (caretaker?) in the grocery store up until he died. Said he became a cranky and decrepit old man who scowled and complained to his wife. I have always been interested in him since due to this connection, but I still can't quite figure him out as a person.

I don't believe your story, anon. I'm sorry.

>>9337034
>he became a cranky and decrepit old man who scowled and complained to his wife

Hopefully he was complaining about phonies.

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I saw Salinger in a supermarket in New Hampsire 2 years before he died.
I told him how cool it was to meet him in person, but I didn't want to be a douche and bother him and ask him for photos or anything,
He said, "Hrmmmm, like you're doing right now?"
I was taken aback, and all I could say was "Huh?" but he kept cutting me off and going "hrmm? hrmm? hrmm?" and closing his hand shut in front of my face. I walked away and continued with my shopping, and I heard him chuckle as I walked off. When I came to pay for my stuff up front I saw him trying to walk out the doors with a stack of like 15 frozen dinners in his hands without paying.
The girl at the counter was very nice about it and professional, and was like "Sir, you need to pay for those first." At first he kept pretending to be tired and not hear her, but eventually turned back around and brought them to the counter.
When she took one of the dinners and started scanning it multiple times, he stopped her and told her to scan each individually "to prevent any demonic exorcision," and then turned around and winked at me. I don't even think that's a word. After she scanned each ration and put them in a bag and started to say the price, he kept interrupting her by ranting about fake news. In retrospect, it was actually very funny.

>>9336887
Nope, either Melville or Pynchon for prose.

No, he didn't and couldn't understand what it really meant to be American.

>>9337125
Shut the fuck up, you dumb prosefag

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not even best American Jew writer

>>9337034
autism

>>9337077
>I don't believe your story, anon. I'm sorry.
Of course I can't really prove I'm telling the truth. My father's siblings all confirmed what I was told, so he wasn't messing with me. My father didn't even remember saying anything to him other than greetings and if he ever responded. He just remembers because he knew who Salinger was, and I guess it was a big deal for the people there to not bother or treat him differently. This would have taken place around the mid 60s, so Salinger would have been out of the spotlight by then and just trying to adjust to his private life.

He was leagues behind Faulkner or Melville in terms of inventiveness, linguistic mastery, and vision for scope.

He's a very good writer honestly, excellent short stories. I find it interesting that he had an IQ of 104. Retard authors like him and Yeats interest me a lot more than """"""smart"""""" writers

1. Melville
2. Faulkner

rest dont matter

>>9337279
IQ has literally no reflection on anything other than "he/she is good at taking IQ tests"

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>>9337260
>He was leagues behind Faulkner

>>9336953
I've never understood it's appeal. I can't even understand it's post-appeal for those who inevitably outgrow the initial stage of its relative appeal. I read it, and didn't like it. I wrote about it, thought about it, had discussions with my friends who enjoyed it and still don't understand it's fucking appeal.

>>9337279
Found the pseud

>>9337112
there it is

>>9337034
>write stories
>get published
>go to war
>have bad time
>write book
>very very popular
>people being nosy
>want privacy
>keep writing
>still popular
>people still being nosy
>getting tired of all this people shit
>already making enough money to live forever
>can keep writing and not publish
>nobody will bother me

>>9337279
>worked for Counter-Intelligence in WW2
>not intelligent
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>implying

>>9336887

Get in here! >>9331811

>>9337534
>army
>intelligent

He has the Nabokov and Beckett endorsement

>>9337128
Not an argument.

>>9336887
idk but catcher in the rye was a great novel when i was a teen. it's a cliche but it really did feel like it was speaking to me. i especially liked the weird moments with authority figures, like with his former english teacher. not to mention mindless resentment of his social betters. definitely resonated with that

>>9337279
>retard authors
Had a good kek, thanks lad.

>>9337608
Anything in particular?

>>9337279
>inplying most authors are "intelligent"

Most authors have middling intellect.

>>9337866
What are you basing this assertion from?

Yeah, he's good. Not sure why we have to make extreme claims like "best" or "worst" all the time. Some people agree he writes well, some don't. Move on.

>>9337279
>Yeats
>Retard