Τζ. Ντ. Σάλιντζερ: Η τελευταία συνέντευξη και άλλες συζητήσεις

The Last Interview

by J.D. Salinger, Χρήστος Καψάλης (Translator)

«Αν αισθάνεσαι μοναξιά, όπως συμβαίνει στους περισσότερους συγγραφείς, γράψε για να της ξεφύγεις».
—ΤΖΕΡΟΜ ΝΤΕΪΒΙΝΤ ΣΑΛΙΝΤΖΕΡ

Από τη στιγμή που ο Τζ. Ντ. Σάλιντζερ δημοσίευσε τον Φύλακα στη σίκαλη το 1951, βρέθηκε αντιμέτωπος με φανατικούς θαυμαστές, επίδοξους βιογράφους και πιεστικούς δημοσιογράφους. Σε αυτή τη συλλογή σπάνιων και αποκαλυπτικών συναντήσεων με τον μυστηριώδη λογοτεχνικό γίγαντα, ο Σάλιντζερ μιλάει –άλλοτε πρόθυμα, άλλοτε απρόθυμα– για το πώς βίωσε αυτή την πίεση, για τις αυτοβιογραφικές ρίζες του έργου του και για τις συμβουλές που δίνει στους συγγραφείς. Περιλαμβάνοντας την τελευταία, απρόσμενη συνέντευξή του, καθώς και μια διεισδυτική εισαγωγή από τον δημοσιογράφο των New York Times Ντέιβιντ Στρέιτφελντ, οι συζητήσεις αυτές αποκαλύπτουν έναν συγγραφέα που αντιστεκόταν στη δημοσιότητα, αλλά δεν μπορούσε να ξεφύγει από τη λάμψη της.

Η σειρά Η τελευταία συνέντευξη και άλλες συζητήσεις συγκεντρώνει εμβληματικές συνομιλίες με κορυφαίες προσωπικότητες από κάθε χώρο: συγγραφείς, στοχαστές, αθλητές, καλλιτέχνες και πολιτικούς – από τα πρώτα τους βήματα μέχρι την τελευταία τους συνέντευξη. Μέσα από τις σελίδες κάθε τόμου αποκαλύπτεται η ανθρώπινη διάσταση πίσω από τη δημόσια εικόνα: ο εσωτερικός κόσμος, το χιούμορ, η οργή, η στοχαστικότητα, οι αδυναμίες και οι αλήθειες που δεν γράφτηκαν ποτέ στα επίσημα βιογραφικά. Ανάμεσα στις προσωπικότητες που «μιλάνε για τελευταία φορά» περιλαμβάνονται ο Έρνεστ Χέμινγουεϊ και ο Άντονι Μπουρντέν, οι οποίοι ανοίγουν και τη σειρά, ο Χόρχε Λουίς Μπόρχες, η Φρίντα Κάλο, ο Τζ. Ντ. Σάλιντζερ κ.ά.


Είπαν για το βιβλίο:

«Ένας άνθρωπος που χειριζόταν τη γλώσσα με δεξιοτεχνία και χάρη, της έδινε αυτοτέλεια και ζωντάνια, υπέροχα ακριβής, και που ήξερε ακριβώς τι έκανε τόσο με την κάθε σιωπή όσο και με την κάθε λέξη». — Ρίτσαρντ Γέιτς

«Η μυθοπλασία του, με την κάπως ζοφερή της τόλμη, το χιούμορ, τη νοσηρότητα, αλλά και την πικρή μα επίμονη ελπίδα της, αντικατοπτρίζει με ακρίβεια τη ζωή στη σύγχρονη Αμερική». — Τζον Απντάικ

«Ο Σάλιντζερ, περισσότερο από κάθε άλλον, δεν γύρισε ποτέ την πλάτη στην εποχή του· αντίθετα, κατάφερε να αποτυπώσει με ακρίβεια τις συγκρούσεις ανάμεσα στο άτομο και στην κοινωνία». — Φίλιπ Ροθ

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, Writing, Essays

222 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2016

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Works, most notably novel The Catcher in the Rye (1951), of American writer Jerome David Salinger often concern troubled, sensitive adolescents.

People well know this author for his reclusive nature. He published his last original work in 1965 and gave his last interview in 1980. Reared in city of New York, Salinger began short stories in secondary school and published several stories in the early 1940s before serving in World War II. In 1948, he published the critically acclaimed story "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" in The New Yorker, his subsequent home magazine. He released an immediate popular success. His depiction of adolescent alienation and loss of innocence in the protagonist Holden Caulfield especially influenced adolescent readers. Widely read and controversial, sells a quarter-million copies a year.

The success led to public attention and scrutiny: reclusive, he published new work less frequently. He followed with a short story collection, Nine Stories (1953), of a novella and a short story, Franny and Zooey (1961), and a collection of two novellas, Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction (1963). His last published work, a novella entitled "Hapworth 16, 1924", appeared in The New Yorker on June 19, 1965.

Afterward, Salinger struggled with unwanted attention, including a legal battle in the 1980s with biographer Ian Hamilton. In the late 1990s, Joyce Maynard, a close ex-lover, and Margaret Salinger, his daughter, wrote and released his memoirs. In 1996, a small publisher announced a deal with Salinger to publish "Hapworth 16, 1924" in book form, but the ensuing publicity indefinitely delayed the release.

Another writer used one of his characters, resulting in copyright infringement; he filed a lawsuit against this writer and afterward made headlines around the globe in June 2009. Salinger died of natural causes at his home in Cornish, New Hampshire.

Reviews

[Jayakrishnan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. It does not contain interviews as the title suggests. It is a collection of articles written by people who were profoundly affected by The Catcher in the Rye and Salinger's other novels and short stories. In a way, these are articles written by creepy people who did not respect the privacy of their favorite writer and simply had to visit him at his remote house in Cornish.

There is the English professor who goes on a road trip to Salinger's house with his girlfriend and meets him for a few minutes. This guy was really creepy, the way he sniffs around town asking people for directions and clues on how to approach Salinger. Then two aspiring writers meet Salinger after driving down to his house and actually get some writing advice out of him. One of them actually walks up to his house and spies into Salinger's drawing room. The book also features Salinger's long, excruciating and claustrophobic cross-examination in court after he files a case against an unauthorized biography. Salinger impatiently answers questions before they are completed and his lawyer has to intervene on more than one occasion to tell Salinger that he should wait until the opposition lawyer finishes the question. I thought it was a great idea to include the cross examination in this collection. One of the most blatantly private writers of the 20th century had to come out of his hiding place to face the world, that too in a court room, to prevent an unauthorized biography from being published. There is an article by a female intern at Salinger's publishing firm who answers fan letters on his behalf. Finally, a small book publisher impresses Salinger to put out Hapsworth through his company. But the man’s desire for publicity gets the better of him and he gives interviews to a few newspapers and magazines about the impending release of the book. Salinger let the contract lapse. All of them are fans who held on to every word of his. I cannot imagine a writer commanding so much hysteria today, in a world with many other competing distractions that have overwhelmed book reading.

Salinger’s gentlemanly struggle for his own privacy and control over the way his work is published is endearing. I wonder how he would have handled the internet age where there would be wild speculations about his personal life (he used to like hanging out with high school students when he was in his 30s). Digital copies of his books would have been shared online (he lived till 2010 so he must have known about this). I can imagine what he must have gone through with complete imbeciles following him around and profiteers stealing his work. There is no justice for the civilized man. Nobility is always under attack.

[Romie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is it weird if I say I both liked and hated this book?

J.D. Salinger went living in a small tow after the success of The Catcher in the Rye for one goddamn thing : being left alone. And what happened? People kept going to his home, again and again, kept violating his privacy — if J.D. Salinger refused to talk to them, they got angry, but if he did talk to them, they betrayed his trust and wrote articles about what happened … Seriously? Could you be more of an asshole?

I learned that in a lot of ways, J.D. Salinger is his characters, and if people had really understood that, they would have left him alone. They disrespected his privacy, sometimes took what wasn't theirs to take, just for a little bit of fame ...

I enjoyed this book because I saw who J.D. Salinger is and liked it. I think he's a great and smart man and deserved so much more.

[Annie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could not get past the introduction here. I love Salinger's work dearly, and I know that he was fiercely private. However, I didn't know that his privacy was invaded to the degree that it was, and that he was tricked into interviews and that reporters and fans pestered him at his home incessantly. I learned all of this in the introduction to this collection of "interviews" (which, when I flip ahead, see that they include sparse snippets and very reluctant answers), along with the following quote from a letter that Salinger wrote:

"I think I've borne all the exploitation and loss of privacy I can possibly bear in a single lifetime."

What a way to preface a book of clearly uncomfortable interviews that I now see Salinger would have despised. I would be too ashamed to continue reading and invade the privacy that he clearly longed for most of all.

[britt_brooke · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Last Interview (and Other Conversations) series is usually very enjoyable, but this Salinger version - considering his well-documented reclusiveness - truly grasped at straws. It’s mostly just a collection of articles written by a few folks fortunate enough to have met him, even just briefly. Some are quite annoying, tbh. It closes with a word from the small press publisher who pissed away the opportunity to publish Hapworth. Poor guy.

[Halle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of articles and interviews is a published contradiction. That being said, it is incredibly thought-provoking.
If only we cared about everyone the same way we obsess about our heroes made famous through their words, as JD Salinger became for his many fans. If this was the case, maybe Salinger could’ve lived a less tormenting life. And that’s all I’ll say.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are only a few conversations post-Catcher with Salinger, before 1951 he seemed sort of normal. Most of these articles have been read. Each of the authors goes to interview Salinger, who wasn't impossible to find, but didn't give much out. The experience described reminded me eerily of the Ballad of Thin Man:

"You hand in your ticket and you go watch the geek
Who immediately walks up to you when he hears you speak
And says, "How does it feel to be such a freak?"
And you say, "Impossible!" as he hands you a bone."

I took these interviews by Mr. Jones with a grain salt. I am going back to re-read his four official books - Catcher in The Rye, Franny & Zooey, Nine Stories, and Raise High The Roof-beam / Seymour an Introduction. Like Bob said everything is in my music.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, just like Salinger. required reading for the well-read. looking forward to other titles in "The Last Interview" series.

[Alexandru Madian · Rating 3 out of 5]

“‘A year or so ago,’ he says, ‘I was asked to speak to a short-story class at Sarah Lawrence College. I went, and I enjoyed the day, but it isn’t something I’d ever want to do again. I got very oracular and literary. I found myself labeling all the writers I respect. (Thomas Mann, in an introduction he wrote for The Castle, called Kafka a ‘religious humorist.’ I’ll never forgive him for it.) A writer, when he’s asked to discuss his craft, ought to get up and call out in a loud voice just the names of the writers he loves. I love Kafka, Flaubert, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Dostoyevsky, Proust, O’Casey, Rilke, Lorca, Keats, Rimbaud, Burns, E. Bronte, Jane Austen, Henry James, Blake, Coleridge. I won’t name any living writers. I don’t think it’s right. I think writing is a hard life. But it’s brought me enough happiness that I don’t think I’d ever deliberately dissuade anybody (if he had talent) from taking it up. The compensations are few, but when they come, if they come, they’re very beautiful.’”
“As I drove up Dingleton Hill for the final time, I felt partially acquainted with J.D. I found his home without problems this time; the tangled mess of inlets and side drives began to look familiar. I parked the car near the mouth of the drive and sat on the ground near his front yard for two hours. I am the only person I know of who keeps a complete library of Salinger works at all times in his glove compartment, and while I waiting to climb the driveway, I leafed leisurely through Franny and Zooey. I closed the book after some moments and stared at the cover. It is one thing to know an author simply by what he has written, and quite another to know him as a person. Once that line is crossed, it can never be reversed, and Salinger was about to become an entity different from what he had ever seemed to me before. He was about to be transformed from a familiar name on a dust jacket to a real human being, something altogether more frail and fallible. The prospect frightened me, but I had come too far to turn back.
It had begun to drizzle slightly as I got back into the car, nervously threw the gearshift into first, and quickly ascended the drive. I parked in front of the garage and turned off the engine. The dogs came running down the balcony steps and I rolled up the windows as fast as I could. They barked so intensely that I didn’t notice that the garage door had started to rise. I did a double take when, from beneath the small portion already opened, two knees became visible. The door continued to rise slowly; I made out the waistline of a man in gray slacks, then a blue, short-sleeved shirt and, finally, a gaunt, line-ridden face. He stared directly at me and walked slowly toward my car in the cool rain. J. D. Salinger had materialized, it seemed, out of nowhere. His hair was full but gray, and he stood for a moment unspectacularly next to his jeep. He again walked toward me. His gait was slow but strong, and as he approached, I half hoped he was the gardener. I rolled down the window and looked up into the most touching face I have ever encountered. It was a face deeply carved; his eyes seemed to be sunken, yet they bore down upon me with a blue translucence.
Compared to this, Holden, Seymour, and the entire cast of his characters were dwarfed. If we had never talked to each other, never exchanged one word, I at least knew the sound of one hand clapping.
‘You mean you dared to come up here and face these ferocious beasts?’ he asked, as he began laughing and stroking the head of his German shepherd. The dog wagged its tail and sat down next to him. I was relieved temporarily.
‘Are you the man who wrote the letter?’
I said yes, I had written the letter.
‘It was a rather humorous note. What is it you want to know? What are your questions?’
It began to rain harder; yet he stood near my car window with raindrops on his face. His voice was demanding, and I was fairly uncertain as to what I had wanted to know in the first place. I explained that my main concern was whether or not he was still actively writing.
‘Yes, of course!’ He seemed surprised. ‘What do you think I do? I’m a writer. But my communication with the public is through my fiction. Contact with the public hinders my work. This has been a problem with some of my colleagues, and it has hurt them.’
‘I understand that—’ I started, but he interrupted me, his tall, thin frame tightening slightly.
‘No, you don’t. No, you don’t understand that. If you did, you wouldn’t be here.’
‘You’re right, you’re right. I’m sorry. I don’t mean to intrude,’ I admitted. I was completely off-balance. He had taken me by surprise when he had asked, nearly painfully, what I wanted. It was as if he’d had to ask the same question of hundreds of searchers, who could never quite determine, once they were up there, exactly what they had wanted.
‘Look,’ I insisted, ‘your work has meant a lot to me and to my students. We read the clippings—the ones that say you’re here, that you’re writing. People come to me to find out about you because they love what you write.’
He looked at the ground for a second, then said, ‘That’s very kind.’
‘But it’s been a long time since you’ve published anything,’ I reminded him.
‘Yes,’ he agreed, as he looked at the ground once more, ‘it has been some time. But I cannot be rushed. Publication is an agonizing thing to go through. It takes at least a year and a half after publication to get back in stride. It’s a tremendous obstacle.’
The rain again became heavy, and somehow I felt his mood had lightened.
‘Will there be any published stories in the near future?’
‘I can��t predict publication dates,’ he said firmly.
‘Well, should I go back and tell them there is something to hope for? That there is at least hope that there will eventually be more stories?’
He became enthusiastic here and looked up suddenly, saying, ‘Oh, yes, yes. There will be more. There is hope for more.’ He seemed to examine the backseat of my car every so often. I had camping gear sprawled all over, and I suspect he was looking for recording equipment or cameras. I had deliberately locked them in the trunk to keep from scaring him away.
‘So, you just came back from there?’ he asked. I gathered he meant Seabrook, because I had mentioned in the letter that I intended to visit the
coastal city.
‘Yes, it was very nice. Thousands of people and not a hint of violence. They were all very supportive of each other; it was kind of nice to see.’
He smiled and nodded, a grin beginning to form across his mouth. The earlier sarcastic and somewhat gruff tone had vanished and he now
appeared very shy.
‘Was our dear Governor Meldrim Thomson there?’ he wanted to know. I guess he hadn’t read the paper. I told him no, the man had not shown up, but that there had been several jokes made at the New Hampshire executive’s expense. Again he shook his head and smiled.
‘I don’t want to keep you in the rain,’ I said. His clothes were thoroughly soaked and little drops were gathering on his face.
‘Well, I don’t know what else I can tell you. Everything I have to say is in my fiction.’
I told him he had been very helpful, and asked him to forgive the inconvenience. He shook my hand and I gave his a long, hardy clasp. I watched as he walked back to the garage, though my mind was far away. I
was recalling two passages that I think clarify his desire to remain aloof, away from center stage.
The first passage I had in mind is from ‘A Perfect Day for Bananafish,’ when Seymour asks a woman passenger on an elevator not to stare at his feet. The next one is from Zooey, and it is that character’s demand that his mother, Bessie Glass, stop admiring his back. The physical presence in both instances is unimportant to Salinger; it is the spiritual essence that he wishes his readership would notice and value.
He called his dogs to him and waved while the rain splashed on the gravel. I waved back and started the car, with yet another scene from his work spinning loosely in my memory. It was from Catcher in the Rye, when Phoebe is going around and around on a carousel in the falling rain, while Holden is just sitting there on the bench getting soaked.
‘I didn’t care, though …’ Holden says. ‘I felt so damn happy, if you want to know the truth. I don’t know why … God, I wish you could have been there.’”

[Victoria]

Anyone who loves Catcher will want to pick up this book. Salinger barely gave any interviews at all, so this book doesn't contain any. You will find articles written by journalists obsessed with him, some who were able to see him, to exchange a few words.
But this book is messed up because Salinger would have never wanted such a book to exist. He filled a lawsuit against a guy who wrote a biography about him, he would in no approve of this book.
I guess it doesn't really mean anything, but still.

[danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had read most of these interviews & essays previously (I did my Master's thesis on Salinger), but there were some that I hadn't yet come across, specifically the transcript of his deposition regarding the Hamilton biography court case (which Hamilton won, but then Salinger appealed and was successful...kind of serves Hamilton right, though). So, really interesting. Extreme Salinger devotees should enjoy this one.

[Steven R. Kraaijeveld · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Everything I have to say is in my fiction." (40)

I have a lot to say about this collection; I'll write a proper review tomorrow when I have the time.

[Abbey S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

My very favorite thing about this book is actually the John Updike quote on the back that reads, "His fiction, in its rather grim bravado, its humor, its morbidity, its wry but persistent hopefulness, matches the shape and tint of present American life." I love this because its ripped from a 1961 review of Franny and Zooey that Updike wrote and is immediately followed by some pretty scathing accusations of stagnancy and self-aggrandizement: "It [the novella] pays the price, however, of becoming dangerously convoluted and static."

That's kind of the mood for this whole book. Information is ripped out of context and quotes from critics (notably my arch nemesis Warren G. French, who said that - writing in the 70s/80s - the post-WW2 generation had produced no worthwhile writers in America...what the hell?) who disliked Salinger's work, but this book's contributors just cherry pick from their reviews, like they did with Updike's.

I don't blame Streitfeld for that, of course, because he was just doing the job of collecting and then admitting his fault in causing Hapworth never to be published. This sort of read as a recompense project for me. I do, however, wish he'd been more transparent in categorizing just what is inside these pages because they are NOT interviews, not a single one, just questions asked of Salinger while literally staring, hands against the glass, into his home through his windows, and then the deposition for his lawsuit filed (rightfully, IMO) against Hamilton who was writing that unauthorized biography. Those aren't interviews. That's stalking and then boring legal jargon.

I also plan on reading Hamilton's "In Search of Salinger" but that's beside the waxing-noble point I'm trying to make here.

Michael Clarkson, whoever he is, should be ashamed. He tries to hide how creepy and delusional he acted by recounting his poor mental health during the years he spent tracking Salinger down, even abandoning his family for the pursuit. But in the end he shows no regret whatsoever for the invasion of privacy. Also, Salinger remarks (after being aggressively prompted) that Clarkson's letters weren't all that clever for somebody aiming to be a fiction writer at the time, and he was so right for that. Clarkson's piece was by far the weakest.

"J. D. Salinger was the second man I ever loved" (65) -- Michael, you need help!

My favorite piece was Lathbury's "Betraying Salinger" and, because I'm pretty deranged about this guy, too, it made me very emotional. I don't think he's to be faulted for "losing" the Hapworth deal; that falls on Kakutani's irresponsible timing of her Hapworth review (which I've read; harsh as it is, I also think kinda Hapworth sucks, so she's not wrong). The ensuing firestorm was all sensationalism and nothing to do with the story itself. I don't know why it made me so sad, but that's how I've always been when reading his work. It gets me on a deep level that I've taken years to define, like some well is being tapped.

I know Salinger fans are deranged. I'm one of them. But it was disgusting to see his privacy ruined, even as I do my best not to sympathize for him because of his creepy inclinations and shady past. And I know not a single contributor of this book has any semblance of honesty/integrity about studying his work and his life, despite what they claim, because nobody except for Streitfeld mentioned anything about Joyce Maynard or his tendencies to spend too much time with people too young for his attention. This was an outlet for their unchecked obsessions, and I've at least tried to do better than them.

Still four stars because this is a very good resource for me! And if I have to read another Catcher-opening-line-ripoff ("If you really want to hear about it...") one more time, I'm buying out every copy of the novel for myself so nobody else can abuse it.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think JD Salinger was much more of a recluse than many people, myself included. Retirement from teaching and the internet's facility in allowing many of us to do paid work from home has allowed many a thousand to stay in an environment that suits us and not to venture among situations we don't particularly enjoy. From what I can gather, Salinger led a normal life of work, driving to the shops, watching tv, taking the odd trip to the city or to a ballgame, getting on with what he wanted to get on with and being friendly with people he felt friendly towards.

Over 50 years he seems to have given a handful of what might be called interviews but which were really polite passing of the time of day or the answering of questions or, in one case, the sorting out of details for the publication of a 1965 story.

I wouldn't want to have people seeking me out. There is an intrusiveness in some of the obsessives who sought Salinger. And an unjustified exploitation of his sharing some time at their unasked for intrusion. Having said that I've been attracted to every snippet that came my way. There is something about a recluse legend and there is something about Salinger that intrigues. I'd never have approached him. I like my own privacy too much to intrude into others' space. Nor would I have written to him. I always put clear blue water between JD Salinger and Holden Caulfield or Buddy Glass. Holden may have expressed a desire to talk to authors of books he enjoyed but Holden is a fictional character.

I read Ian Hamilton's book in the late 80s and this put me off following the trail completely. It was only after the writer died that I began to hope that maybe the fabled writing might begin to emerge. Apparently there is good reason to hope that it will.

In the meantime I'm enjoying a little Salinger autumn and this book makes for interesting reading. I was aware of most of these pieces. If you've watched the recent films, Salinger, and Rebel in the Rye, then you too will be familiar with them.

I fully admit to being caught in the mesh of hypocrisy between wondering and hoping on the one hand and respecting the man's right to live his life his way. I've left this little project until a respectful time has passed and I find I still enjoy reading his stories and still find the man worth the study.

This book is worth reading. All the chapters have importance and all are written with that same mix of curiosity and apology for the intrusion that I feel. Cornish, we have a paradox. How not to be interested in one of the most interesting writers of our time.

[Kyle Berk · Rating 1 out of 5]

J.D Salinger the Last interview is not at all what I thought it was going to be. I thought J.D. Salinger had actually given some form of interview. I found no such thing.

Now just because my expectations were wrong does not result in my sustain for this. My distance is a result of what I got. What I got was incident after incident of a stalking and privacy invasion attempts and success’.

Now since I’m reading this I think it is clear I have a respect or curiosity for the author and his work, which I do. I am not quiet about the fact that I think Catcher in the Rye is a great, important, and astounding piece of fiction but it is also my favorite novel. So I have a passing interest and working knowledge of J.D. Salinger and respect lots of things about him.

So this was infuriating at times, interesting most of the time, and all around a bit curious.

Curious because that is where all the stories start, because someone was curious. Some start to question those around J.D Salinger. One woman responded to his fan letters because she worked for his publishers. And other essays all discussing Salinger.

It also has a courtroom hearing transcript in the middle and it takes up a lot about the book and it’s frankly uninteresting.

Now the most interesting thing about this book is that you get to see different writing styles in the form of personal essays, and that’s interesting. As well as the new little factoids I learned, which also resulted in me wanting a copy of Hapworth 16 1924. But this comes at a cost, because I understand Salinger’s desire for privacy. I don’t understand his need for it because I’m not as sought after as him, but I understand the desire because I like my privacy which is why I have only a Goodreads and a Twitter I don’t use.

For this book to exist is troubling because there is no interview which is granted, every single essay is an account of stalking or pining after someone who wanted to be left alone, and after reading it I myself feel dirty. Because he does have published work and I can refer to that instead of this, I’ll try that in the future.

All in all the existence of this is what I take issue with. The form is interesting at times even if the content makes me feel dirty.

I think in part this kind of thing would work better if it were a different author but with this author I find it lacking and vile.

1 star.

[Shravani Sawant · Rating 3 out of 5]

They aren't really all interviews. Since Salinger was famously a recluse, most of the "interviews" are tidbits of conversations [partly creepy] people have had with him over the years, in which he is majorly reiterating just to leave him alone. Despite knowing this, people had been traveling far and wide to his last known locations, taking on unsanctioned missions hoping that he would talk to them of all people. If those were uncomfortable to read, most of all was the eponymous "Last Interview" - again, not really an interview - but worse, a deposition. A deposition in which he sues an unapproved biography of him. Second-hand embarrassment isn't phrase enough to describe that section.

However, this particular book is simply a collection of these stories, which is interesting inasmuch as they provide a wide-ranging lens to who Salinger was as a person, and how his writing had far-reaching effects on the lives of those who followed his work when he was alive.

[Penelope Winkle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it would be better if the different sections were more focused on the actual interactions with JD Salinger rather than the personal stories of the interviewer. Like yes I like him as much as they do but I just wanted to hear what he had to say, not some interviewer’s backstory. I also don’t like the fact that the reporters were infringing on his privacy, I wanted to yell ‘LEAVE HIM ALONE HE DOESN’T WANT TO TALK TO YOU’ at the writers of the different articles. I definitely thought this was just going to be a record of a consensual interview or interviews with some commentary. While I did learn more information about him personally, I was annoyed at the execution of how the material was attained, or more so taken, from him.

[tisasday · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought I knew what to expect going into this book, given that I have read at least three other books in the series. It turned out Salinger wasn't the typical American author I always thought he was. This collection is a series by the people who wanted to get to know Salinger instead of a series distilling Salinger's final self. But it turns out to be the only way to portray the eccentric figure that Salinger is. It's funny because I only know him from one book and one book only, which...come to think of it, should have given me a clue or two about his oddity. A lot of respect for how he continues to defend his writing self.

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

This review is solely based on the book, it’s format, not anything about J.D. Salinger as a person.

We know Salinger never gave any interviews willingly. This leads to the problem of a lack of non-repetitive content in this book. They author simply seemed to have pasted together a series of articles people wrote of Salinger. He didn’t bother editing any of them to remove repetitive quotations and background on Salinger. And while preserving an articles authenticity is important, the introduction made by the author repeats upon multiple articles later down in the book.

It’s just 167 pages of about 40 pages of new information, the rest is just a narrative or repeating itself.

[Harper Love · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a big fan of J.D. Salinger, I found this book very stimulating. It was fun to get to know an isolated and misunderstood author. Everyone loved (loves) him so much, but he just wanted them to get out of his life. He believed that his work spoke for itself. If you are interested in Salinger, I recommend you read this book, but if you are not especially in love with him you will probably find these interviews and stories rather dull. He was not out there much.

[Bryce Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable read, but I can see where it wouldn't be engrossing for anyone not picking it up because they are interested in the author of the Catcher in the Rye. Very interesting details throughout, gives you a sense of the man's mindset. One of the interviews is the basis for the movie "Coming through the Rye" which is neat. I do think Kenneth Slawenski's biography "JD Salinger: A Life" is more informative, if your interested in the man himself.

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was / am definitely on the hordes of Salinger admirers and romantics, Catcher in the Rye and his other books played a huge role in my late adolescence. I enjoyed these "interviews" - though most border on desperate stalking incidents of a man who didn't want to give interviews. A deposition marks the "last interview". I still find Salinger to be interesting and mysterious, so this book did what I expected it to do and got me thinking back to myself 20 or so ago.

[Rossana Forlano · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel awful for having read this. Poor man. I wish I too gave him his privacy an leave him alone without reading these interviews.

You know what I didn't like about this? The way the "interviewers" talk only about themselves and never of the man they are looking for. It is their journey, their story, their book, their question. It is never Salinger.

In this respect, I think the highschooler piece is better than those ones lol.

[Moien Nayebi · Rating 2 out of 5]

خب اگر سلینجر انتخابش انزوا بوده، ما هم به انتخابش احترام بگذاریم. ضمن اینکه این کتاب حرف خاصی هم نمی‌تواند راجع بهش بزند.

در اسناد دادگاه تنها صدایی هست که می‌گوید: نمی‌دانم، بله، نخیر. مشخصا چنین شخصی حرفی برای زدن ندارد و هر چقدر هم دوست‌دارانش برای حرف کشیدن از زیر زبانش تلاش کنند نتیجه‌ای نخواهد داشت.

[Amber Murphy · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was so unnecessary?? The “interviews” (which I would hardly call any of these interviews) all basically say the exact same thing. How many different times do I need to read that Salinger liked to keep private from a person actively disrespecting those wishes. Only gets one star because Salinger is so funny and I love him sm (and Goodreads gives me no other option).

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The "last interview" is nothing more than a court deposition, and a pretty dull one at that. Still, it was nice to read and think about Salinger again, maybe it's time to revisit the oeuvre yet one more time to see if it still resonates. I'm sure it will, it always has.

[Andy9562000 · Rating 4 out of 5]

No really new info but a few interesting short pieces

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interessant, want Jerry is mijn lievelingsman. Ook sneu, laat die man met rust. Het ene stukje was beter dan de andere, zoals dat gaat. Vooral het daadwerkelijk laatste interview was nogal saai.

[Jessie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exactly what I hoped and expected. A nice compliment to the Salinger (unauthorized) biography. Worth the time if he's on your list of favorites.

[Maximillian · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fuck Joanna Rakoff and fuck Michiko Kakutani and all the rest of the lot that never learned to listen. Isn’t this the first thing we learn as children? To listen to other human beings?

[Matt Parrilli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title is a bit of a misnomer as Salinger never actually consented to an interview, but this is a compelling window into Salinger’s life and the lives of those who admire his writing. Recommended.