By Jack Engelhard
The upstairs literary crowd, Eustace Tilley types, are already sharpening their pencils for Dan Brown’s next book, “The Lost Symbol,” even though it won’t be birthed until September. I’m not here to defend Dan Brown except to say that he delivered as promised. His big book, “The Da Vinci Code” was exactly about that, the Da Vinci code.
Dan Brown is not adored by the literati and the sniping has already begun as meanwhile Haruki Murakami, one of their favorites, keeps getting embraced.
Murakami’s latest gem is titled “Kafka on the Shore” and I happen to be a huge fan of Kafka and nearly went ahead to buy the book until, doing the usual online searches, I found that this book about Kafka is not about Kafka. It’s about a character Murakami has named Kafka with no connection to the great writer Franz Kafka.
Cute trick and I’m all for clever marketing but someone should point out that warning labels ought to be attached to certain books. I almost fell for this cleverness. I should learn from it at the very least and perhaps my next book ought to be titled “Hemingway on the Beach” except that it won’t be anything about Hemingway or a beach.
In practically all the reviews about this book named Kafka but which is not about Kafka, there is only praise from penthouse reviewers and no mention that perhaps there is something non-kosher about this. Yet this is how it goes once the literary mavens have established a particular writer as “literary” as opposed to “commercial,” though I have never known the difference. Can’t a writer be both? Is Hemingway literary or commercial?
We can learn marketing tricks from Amy Holden Jones as well. This screenwriter wrote a movie titled “Beethoven” and those of us who tuned in for a film about the great composer Ludwig van Beethoven were stricken with disappointment. Dog lovers were happy because it was about a dog named Beethoven. The rest of us wanted our money back (though I also like dogs, really).
More recently, a writer of unknown pedigree tried to pull a fast one by updating J. D. Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye.” Salinger, as we all know by now, stopped this from happening. I say kudos to Salinger for halting at least one phony from getting away with deception. Salinger is all about the sanctity of the novel and as for me, I admire this about him. He insists that it’s only the written word that counts, not the writer, and that’s why he went into hiding.
Is Salinger literary or commercial? I’m saying that he’s simply a damn good writer who writes strictly for himself because only his own characters can understand him. He sought no acclaim. The same goes for John W. Cassell, a brilliant writer who ought to be read by millions but is happy enough to have created his own private universe.
In “The Bathsheba Deadline” a newsroom novel otherwise about international intrigue and news media deception, I devote several chapters to Salinger to find, through him, what is real and what is fake. In writing about him (through the eyes of fiction) I found myself reconstructing him until I created an image of a man who left the world because so much of it is run by tricks, gimmicks and deceit.
Salinger took the cue from God Himself who looked around, saw enough, and left us to our own devices.
(Salinger is mystical. That’s for sure and that’s why the novel’s Lyla Crawford is gung-ho after him, body and soul, for the scoop of the century.)
Further into the writing about Salinger in “Bathsheba” – and letting my imagination fly --I began to understand why so many of us are in pursuit of this reclusive novelist and though the epiphany is incomplete, this much I take for truth: We send rockets to scale the moon and the planets and yet the most undiscovered planet is ourselves.
We don’t even know what truth is when we can’t trust a book by its cover.
Jack Engelhard wrote the international bestselling novel “Indecent Proposal” that was translated into more than 22 languages and turned into a Paramount motion picture starring Robert Redford and Demi Moore. His latest published works are “The Bathsheba Deadline” and “The Girls of Cincinnati.” He can be reached, and his Works can be viewed, at www.jackengelhard.com
Showing posts with label the catcher in the rye. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the catcher in the rye. Show all posts
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Strange Deafness Afflicts Salinger Lawsuit
By Jack Engelhard
Salinger can’t hear? That’s hard to take.
Reports are coming in that JD Salinger “is now totally deaf.” That’s a quote being attributed to his agent, whose job it is to enforce his privacy.
As I wrote in an earlier piece (“Salinger Alleges Indecent Rip-off”), I don’t know much about the law, but here, as a novelist who names Salinger as one of his literary heroes, I can say what strangeness it is to blurt out such news. I don’t doubt the truth of this revelation, but I do wonder why it got out from his gatekeepers. They must have known it would make headlines – and not in a good way.
Already there are parodies of his aging (he’s 90) and headlines that term him “frail and deaf.” (Shades of Howard Hughes?) I hope we’re not gloating.
There’s this passage to consider about a man who’s been stricken by age and infirmity and because of this, becomes the object of laughter and sport: “Wait, he used to whisper to me. Everybody gets a turn.” That’s from my novel “The Girls of Cincinnati” about a salesman, Lou Emmett, but it could have been written about a novelist, JD Salinger.
Everybody gets a turn, kids.
This is a man, Salinger, who’s kept himself fiercely reclusive for an entire generation. We know almost nothing about him except for the writing. That’s been the deal. Salinger is all about the sanctity of the novel, which is why (through his lawyers) he’s going to court to stop publication and distribution of an alleged rip-off of “The Catcher in The Rye.”
Maybe it needed to be said for legal reasons, that he’s “now totally deaf.” Probably so. But Salinger must be cringing that he’s been made public – and pathetic.
His people couldn’t stop this from getting out? Maybe not. Still, I find it strange that an image so unflattering got divulged.
They couldn’t foresee the headlines and the mockery – if indeed that quote of his deafness is correct as received?
Salinger’s argument has always been that his writings do the talking. That is all we need to know about him.
He is Holden Caulfield (still) as Flaubert was Madame Bovary.
His revenge has been his silence. For that he’s been admired, and scorned.
As for me, what’s not to like? He’s a war hero. He was in action at Utah Beach on D-Day and in The Battle of the Bulge. Later, serving in counter intelligence, he interrrogated Nazi prisoners of war who'd been active in the death camps. He told his daughter, "You never get the small of burning flesh out of your nose entirely, no matter how long you live."
Salinger hates people. He especially hates the uppity New York publishing scene – this, after years of rejection before some of his short stories and “Catcher” saw print. He wrote ONE novel that’s made him more beloved (and disdained) than novelists who’ve written them by the hundreds.
Yes, sometimes it takes but one great book to secure a reputation. That is true glory and blessedness.
Like Paul Newman, his father was Jewish, his mother was Catholic. I don’t quite get the message here except that the Almighty does indeed work in mysterious ways.
We ought to delight in the fact that (at 90) we still have him with us – “totally deaf” or whatever.
To those who envy him and rejoice in his affliction, here’s the wisdom of King Solomon:
“So remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come.”
Novelist Jack Engelhard wrote the international bestselling novel “Indecent Proposal” that was translated into more than 22 languages and turned into a Paramount motion picture starring Robert Redford and Demi Moore. His latest novels are “The Bathsheba Deadline” and “The Girls of Cincinnati.” He can be reached at www.jackengelhard.com
Salinger can’t hear? That’s hard to take.
Reports are coming in that JD Salinger “is now totally deaf.” That’s a quote being attributed to his agent, whose job it is to enforce his privacy.
As I wrote in an earlier piece (“Salinger Alleges Indecent Rip-off”), I don’t know much about the law, but here, as a novelist who names Salinger as one of his literary heroes, I can say what strangeness it is to blurt out such news. I don’t doubt the truth of this revelation, but I do wonder why it got out from his gatekeepers. They must have known it would make headlines – and not in a good way.
Already there are parodies of his aging (he’s 90) and headlines that term him “frail and deaf.” (Shades of Howard Hughes?) I hope we’re not gloating.
There’s this passage to consider about a man who’s been stricken by age and infirmity and because of this, becomes the object of laughter and sport: “Wait, he used to whisper to me. Everybody gets a turn.” That’s from my novel “The Girls of Cincinnati” about a salesman, Lou Emmett, but it could have been written about a novelist, JD Salinger.
Everybody gets a turn, kids.
This is a man, Salinger, who’s kept himself fiercely reclusive for an entire generation. We know almost nothing about him except for the writing. That’s been the deal. Salinger is all about the sanctity of the novel, which is why (through his lawyers) he’s going to court to stop publication and distribution of an alleged rip-off of “The Catcher in The Rye.”
Maybe it needed to be said for legal reasons, that he’s “now totally deaf.” Probably so. But Salinger must be cringing that he’s been made public – and pathetic.
His people couldn’t stop this from getting out? Maybe not. Still, I find it strange that an image so unflattering got divulged.
They couldn’t foresee the headlines and the mockery – if indeed that quote of his deafness is correct as received?
Salinger’s argument has always been that his writings do the talking. That is all we need to know about him.
He is Holden Caulfield (still) as Flaubert was Madame Bovary.
His revenge has been his silence. For that he’s been admired, and scorned.
As for me, what’s not to like? He’s a war hero. He was in action at Utah Beach on D-Day and in The Battle of the Bulge. Later, serving in counter intelligence, he interrrogated Nazi prisoners of war who'd been active in the death camps. He told his daughter, "You never get the small of burning flesh out of your nose entirely, no matter how long you live."
Salinger hates people. He especially hates the uppity New York publishing scene – this, after years of rejection before some of his short stories and “Catcher” saw print. He wrote ONE novel that’s made him more beloved (and disdained) than novelists who’ve written them by the hundreds.
Yes, sometimes it takes but one great book to secure a reputation. That is true glory and blessedness.
Like Paul Newman, his father was Jewish, his mother was Catholic. I don’t quite get the message here except that the Almighty does indeed work in mysterious ways.
We ought to delight in the fact that (at 90) we still have him with us – “totally deaf” or whatever.
To those who envy him and rejoice in his affliction, here’s the wisdom of King Solomon:
“So remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come.”
Novelist Jack Engelhard wrote the international bestselling novel “Indecent Proposal” that was translated into more than 22 languages and turned into a Paramount motion picture starring Robert Redford and Demi Moore. His latest novels are “The Bathsheba Deadline” and “The Girls of Cincinnati.” He can be reached at www.jackengelhard.com
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Salinger Alleges Indecent Rip-Off
By Jack Engelhard
Someone has come along with a “sequel” to JD Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye.” Salinger is suing to stop publication and distribution. He calls it a “rip-off.”
Don’t look at me to get into the legalities. But I do know how it feels.
I wrote nothing as popular as “The Catcher in the Rye” but popular enough to be translated into more than 22 languages and to be made into a movie starring Robert Redford and Demi Moore – “Indecent Proposal.” (The movie’s box office was about $260 million worldwide.) The novel’s concept (“what would you do for a million dollars?”) was mine and the title was mine. This was original and it was my baby.
My novel sold about 4 million copies worldwide and still sells (through Comteq Publishing) even after the movie has run dry.
Salinger’s novel is still going strong after sales of 70 million.
Around the house, following the publication of “Indecent Proposal,” we used to say, “No matter what happens, they can’t take that away from you.”
Really?
About a year ago a “writer” decided to rip-off my title. She calls her book “Indecent Proposal.” I haven’t read the rip-off (the “book” itself) and I cannot say if my theme was borrowed. I can only speak of the title. I am told, by lawyers, that titles are not protected. Okay, that’s the legality. But what about respect – the unspoken rules that govern the tenderness of literature?
When I found out about this rip-off of my title I was upset. Now I’m still upset. I felt mugged then and I feel mugged now. Comes to this, I guess, which is: “Why come up with your own title? Borrow the title from a novel already famous and you’re in business fast.” No, getting ripped off doesn’t get better with age.
Salinger is 90 years old now and he’s still zealous of his “intellectual property.” Good for him!
“Imitation,” we’re told, “is the highest form of flattery.” Speaking for Salinger and for myself, thanks anyway, but we can do without the flattery.
Maybe we should feel pity for “writers” who are so feeble that they have no choice but to go scavenging after other people’s books – in my case, true, only the title.
But the title has been my claim to fame – if fame is the word we want in the case of all writers whose dreams and struggles never end.
Salinger’s claim to fame is “The Catcher in the Rye.” Salinger is a recluse. He doesn’t want to be near people. (Who can blame him?) He wants his privacy but people keep pursuing him. All right, pursue the man if we must. That’s the lesser evil. But to pursue his novel, that is the greater evil. A true novel, like any true work of art, is as near to holiness as we’ll ever get.
Salinger did not make the novel. The novel made Salinger.
I can say the same as for me and for “Indecent Proposal.”
Novelists invest time and blood into the work of a book and after that we have to fend off publishers, editors, reviewers and even friends who wish us to go splat.
That ought to be enough. We don’t need copycats on top of it all.
I have since published other novels just waiting for the vultures.
Salinger is quoted as saying that there is a “marvelous peace in not publishing.”
That is so damned true. The pleasure is only in the writing. That’s the heaven. After that comes the hell.
Novelist Jack Engelhard wrote the international bestselling novel “Indecent Proposal” that was translated into more than 22 languages and turned into a Paramount motion picture starring Robert Redford and Demi Moore. His latest novels are “The Bathsheba Deadline” and “The Girls of Cincinnati.” He can be reached at www.jackengelhard.com
Someone has come along with a “sequel” to JD Salinger’s “The Catcher in the Rye.” Salinger is suing to stop publication and distribution. He calls it a “rip-off.”
Don’t look at me to get into the legalities. But I do know how it feels.
I wrote nothing as popular as “The Catcher in the Rye” but popular enough to be translated into more than 22 languages and to be made into a movie starring Robert Redford and Demi Moore – “Indecent Proposal.” (The movie’s box office was about $260 million worldwide.) The novel’s concept (“what would you do for a million dollars?”) was mine and the title was mine. This was original and it was my baby.
My novel sold about 4 million copies worldwide and still sells (through Comteq Publishing) even after the movie has run dry.
Salinger’s novel is still going strong after sales of 70 million.
Around the house, following the publication of “Indecent Proposal,” we used to say, “No matter what happens, they can’t take that away from you.”
Really?
About a year ago a “writer” decided to rip-off my title. She calls her book “Indecent Proposal.” I haven’t read the rip-off (the “book” itself) and I cannot say if my theme was borrowed. I can only speak of the title. I am told, by lawyers, that titles are not protected. Okay, that’s the legality. But what about respect – the unspoken rules that govern the tenderness of literature?
When I found out about this rip-off of my title I was upset. Now I’m still upset. I felt mugged then and I feel mugged now. Comes to this, I guess, which is: “Why come up with your own title? Borrow the title from a novel already famous and you’re in business fast.” No, getting ripped off doesn’t get better with age.
Salinger is 90 years old now and he’s still zealous of his “intellectual property.” Good for him!
“Imitation,” we’re told, “is the highest form of flattery.” Speaking for Salinger and for myself, thanks anyway, but we can do without the flattery.
Maybe we should feel pity for “writers” who are so feeble that they have no choice but to go scavenging after other people’s books – in my case, true, only the title.
But the title has been my claim to fame – if fame is the word we want in the case of all writers whose dreams and struggles never end.
Salinger’s claim to fame is “The Catcher in the Rye.” Salinger is a recluse. He doesn’t want to be near people. (Who can blame him?) He wants his privacy but people keep pursuing him. All right, pursue the man if we must. That’s the lesser evil. But to pursue his novel, that is the greater evil. A true novel, like any true work of art, is as near to holiness as we’ll ever get.
Salinger did not make the novel. The novel made Salinger.
I can say the same as for me and for “Indecent Proposal.”
Novelists invest time and blood into the work of a book and after that we have to fend off publishers, editors, reviewers and even friends who wish us to go splat.
That ought to be enough. We don’t need copycats on top of it all.
I have since published other novels just waiting for the vultures.
Salinger is quoted as saying that there is a “marvelous peace in not publishing.”
That is so damned true. The pleasure is only in the writing. That’s the heaven. After that comes the hell.
Novelist Jack Engelhard wrote the international bestselling novel “Indecent Proposal” that was translated into more than 22 languages and turned into a Paramount motion picture starring Robert Redford and Demi Moore. His latest novels are “The Bathsheba Deadline” and “The Girls of Cincinnati.” He can be reached at www.jackengelhard.com
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