Tag: j.d. salinger

MasterChugs Theater: ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’

The seductive, glamorous, and exquisitely fragile Glass family of J.D. Salinger’s invention might well live down the street from the fairy-tale clan that represents the soul of a fragile but bountiful New York City in Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums. Reminiscent of Salinger’s Manhattanites, the Tenenbaums are privileged natives in a landscape that doesn’t exist, and perhaps never existed, but seduces with the possibility of having existed once in a cozier, more Christmas-y past.

We all have our personal quirks and family issues that sometimes make us say, “How can anyone else’s family be as goofy as mine?” But then along come movies bringing us dysfunctional families like Moonstruck, Ordinary People and The Royal Tenenbaums that make our personal lives seem like an episode right out of The Waltons. And make no mistake about it-the Tenenbaum family definitely has issues. Continue reading MasterChugs Theater: ‘The Royal Tenenbaums’

When a copyright meets a copy comin’ through the rye

This place is really getting to me. I sit here, writing every now and then at my desk. Then this guy comes through into my room from the bathroom. Here, the dorm rooms are connected in pairs by a bathroom. I heard him before he even opens the door. I always hear him. I turn, it’s my butler.

He’s a Catholic. He keeps asking me if I am a Catholic. Catholics always want to know if you’re a Catholic, too. It’s just how they are.

My butler, Edward, comes into the room, like he always does, and he tells me the news. Normally I try to avoid the news, for I am a recluse, as any great 20th century author is or was. But today, Edward looks quite concerned. He takes off his red hat. He wears that hat sometimes, he says he likes the color of it.

Edward tells me that there is someone in Sweden who wants to publish a book called 60 Years Later: Coming Through The Rye. It has a character like the one I wrote about, Holden Caulfield, back in 1951. Only he is referred to as “Mr. C.” It takes place in New York, just like my book did. It follows the protagonist around for a few days, like my book. And it is written by a J.D. California, who claims my book got him through a rough time in Cambodia. They do not have respect for copyright laws in Cambodia.

J.D. California is a phony.