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> “It’s evident Salinger has a saint complex. He wants to be a saint. The trouble is, he doesn’t have a saintly personality—quite the opposite—he is egotistical
by LapsangGuzzler 3y ago
> “It’s evident Salinger has a saint complex. He wants to be a saint. The trouble is, he doesn’t have a saintly personality—quite the opposite—he is egotistical, ill tempered, unforgiving. But he wants to be a saint because saints are above the humans, they are unstoppably superior.” Hamilton is the proponent of this view of Salinger—a haughty relic frozen in time.
I hope conversations around personal privacy have improved in the years since it became so much easier to broadcast our lives to the world, because this is an insane attitude to have that I hope we’ve evolved beyond.
Having that kind of fame thrust upon you having written one book would difficult for anyone to navigate, I certainly don’t judge his desire to fight people that tried profit from his life story.
- ianbutler 3y agoThe idea someone else has an entitlement on the life of another person, even if that person has done something like publish a successful book, is narcissistic on the part of the person who thinks they have that entitlement. There is arguably an expectation of loss of privacy for public figures, but even that is limited. I imagine, unfortunately, this has gotten even worse today where the sense of entitlement in the general populace has grown significantly.
- hirundo 3y agoAs with George R.R. Martin, who is a kind of ecdysiast that I had mistaken for a hetaera. He seduced and aroused me and then failed to deliver what I thought I had bargained for, but had in fact not. Like the ecdysiast, he owes me nothing I had not been promised, despite my expectations. But while my entitlement to the future work of Mr. Martin is zero, I still feel somewhat jilted.
- TheGRS 3y agoI feel similarly toward Patrick Rothfuss, since I absolutely love his few books and I've re-read them a few times, but it seems like there's no end to the series he created in sight still. Early into his creation he promised not to be like other fantasy authors who let their series stretch into decades, often unfinished, but after some time it became pretty evident that he had fallen into the same hole they had. So on one hand I appreciate that creative writing is tough, and meeting the rising expectations of your fans is very difficult. But on the other hand we feel a little teased with no meaningful climax, and often you hear the creator assure you that things will be coming to a close soon, but left with nothing. That's maybe the only thing I might have to be a little angry about, but the stakes are low enough that I can't really get worked up about it without feeling pretty silly.
- kurthr 3y agoWell, to be fair, he has broken multiple promises (for the release date of WindsOfWinter alone). I don't hate him for it, but he's not trustworthy in that I doubt he has any idea when any book will be released and should know better than to opine since he's been wrong so many times before. Of course fans beg him for comments so... whatever.
- ycombinete 3y agoEcdysiast == stripper Hetaera == prostitute/escort Where did you find these odd words!? It seems like Ecydysiast for one is a facetious term invented by H.L. Mencken and barely ever used since.
- hirundo 3y agoI actually know where I learned these odd words: Heinlein uses them both. I picked them because they sound more respectful than the alternatives and I'm in awe of Martin.
- deafpolygon 3y agoOnly in its obscurity does it sound respectful at first blush, but upon learning the meaning- the effect is still the same. ;)
- ycombinete 3y agoThat actually makes sense. I'm guessing that it was in Time Enough for Love?
- detourdog 3y agoHe also stormed the beaches at Normandy and whatever happened after that. He deserves his own desires.
- dghlsakjg 3y agoDo people who have not stormed beaches, gone to war, etc. Have a different set of privacy rights? I understand the underlying sentiment, but I strongly dislike the notion that serving in the military de facto entitles you to a stronger say in what or how society operates.
- detourdog 3y agoI have an Uncle that served in the infantry division. I view that generation as a ruined group of kids that came back to the US and did the best they could. I also maybe over personalizing the issue. I simply mean that facing the worst of humanity buys people extra space to exist in my dealings with them. I believe we all have the same privacy rights. Some of us get the right to be eccentric in uncomfortable ways to a certain extent.
- diogenes4 3y agoNever got this attitude. Plenty of people are roped into wars; this doesn't make them any better or worse than anyone else. More pitiable? Certainly.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]