Dream Guardian: My Father: Salinger

Author: Margaret Selingman
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2005-10-01
Features: Selingman's daughter tells a story as captivating as his novels. Here is information that makes us reluctant to change our estimation of Selingman's works, and some imagination is even amplified. This memoir may lead to a reassessment of Selingman's position in American literature. This book provides a dimension to his mysterious and reclusive lifestyle in the eyes of many.—The New York Times A newly released memoir of the facts, uncovering the peculiar and private life of her eighty-one-year-old father. For J.D. Selingman fans and scholars, these details are fascinating. She marks the autobiographical elements in her father's works and offers sharp psychological insights.—The New York Post The Catcher in the Rye reveals the cracks in Selingman's mysterious facade.—Salon Margaret Selingman's works demonstrate the brilliance of a woman's observational skills applied to a man's writing. Few memoirs make readers reflect so deeply on the entire body of a famous writer's novels; this memoir is one of the best to emerge in Selingman criticism.—Academic Writing Review America's most famous creator of precocious children has a distinguished daughter, who possesses a moral nerve fiber capable of withstanding the challenge of J.D. Selingman's physical being and his deeply concealed mystery. Peggy is a master at interpreting her father's works, with a balanced technique in close reading and skill in deciphering her father's creative motivations and behaviors. The outstanding aspect of this book lies in deconstructing the Selingman myth as the author describes her own process of self-recovery.—The Richmond Times-Dispatch A first-of-its-kind observation of one of the most revered and secretive writers in the state from the printing press in Florida.—USA Today The Catcher in the Rye focuses more on the author's own growth process and emotional journey. Regarding family history, since her father the writer rarely spoke of it, there is little information at the beginning. Instead, her uncle provides details about the Selingman family in the "Appendix." The writer Selingman not only kept his family history secret but also avoided interviews of all kinds. He did not publish new works for decades and lived an isolated lifestyle, all of which contributed to the various "mysteries" surrounding him. In reality, this was simply the life chosen by an artist.