At Home in the World - Softcover

Maynard, Joyce

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1862300674 ISBN 13: 9781862300675

Publisher: Anchor Books, 1999

Synopsis

In 1972, Joyce Maynard, an undergraduate at Yale, wrote an article for the New York Times Magazine called 'An Eighteen Year Old Looks Back on Life'. Among the hundreds of letters she received as a result, one expressed deep affection for her writing, and concern at the exploitation that she might be subjected to. The writer was J.D. Salinger, author of Catcher in the Rye and famous recluse. Their correspondence led first to friendship, and then to love, and after a few months she dropped out of college to live with him. In spite of the thirty-five year difference in their ages, she believed they would be together always - but after a year, he sent her away. Courageous, beautifully written and affecting, this book is destined to become a classic memoir of a modern woman's life.

About this title

Review:

Joyce Maynard's memoir, At Home in the World, is an attempt to make peace with herself. At times, however, it's hard not to see it as an act of war--on her parents and, most notably, on J.D. Salinger. Maynard's account of her year-long relationship with the reclusive American writer is the centrepiece of the book and the publicity pivot on which it turns. And how not? She first encountered Salinger when he wrote her a fan letter following her world-weary but not necessarily wordly wise New York Times Magazine cover piece, "An Eighteen Year Old Looks Back on Life." He was then 53 and, as Maynard paraphrases, wanted her "to know that I could be a real writer, if I would just look out for myself, as no other person is likely to."

By the time she was 19, she was living with the increasingly controlling Salinger and doing her best to adhere to his regimens, from homeopathy at any price to a mostly macrobiotic diet heavy on frozen peas What's worse, he does his best to turn the hugely driven young woman into a mistrusting, publicity-shy prig, not to mention helping her perfect her already anorexic bent. Maynard is such a skilled writer that it's hard not to take her side as the relationship falters. In fact, even when it's going well, it's not easy to sympathise with a man whose idea of an endearment is: "I couldn't have made up a character of a girl I'd love better than you."

But Maynard is as hard on her younger self as she is on the great man. Though she had published intimate essays since her early teens, and long been feted for her "honesty," it has taken the overachiever many years to realise that she had carefully left out her most personal burdens--her father's alcoholism, her mother's nighttime "snuggling" and overwhelming intrusions, the distance between her and her older sister.

Still,At Home in the World is more than a clearing house for past parental and amorous wrongs. It's a cautionary tale about using language and the pretence of truth to obscure key realities. --Kerry Fried

Review:

"Riveting and disturbing."--Katha Pollitt, "The New York Times Book Review

""Dazzling. Absorbing, funny, and emotionally blistering."--Jules Siegel, "San Francisco Chronicle

""Even Salinger loyalists may feel compelled to reexamine their idol."--Sara Nelson, "Glamour

""Unsparing self-scrutiny. . .Maturity and emotional candor."--Michiko Kakutani, "The New York Times

""A wry, painful, engaging book."--Frank McCourt, author of "Angela's Ashes

""Maynard's testimony is priceless."--Mary Cantwell, "Vogue"

"Unsparing self-scrutiny...maturity and emotional candor."--Michiko Kakutani, "The New York Times
""Absorbing, funny, and emotionally blistering."--Jules Siegel, "San Francisco Chronicle
"
"A wry, painful, engaging book."--Frank McCourt, author of "Angela's Ashes
"
"Maynard's testimony is priceless."--Mary Cantwell, "Vogue
"
"Riveting and disturbing."--"The New York Times Book Review
""Even Salinger loyalists may feel compelled to reexamine their idol."--"Glamour
""Dazzling."--"San Francisco Chronicle"

Unsparing self-scrutiny...maturity and emotional candor. "Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times"

Absorbing, funny, and emotionally blistering. "Jules Siegel, San Francisco Chronicle"

A wry, painful, engaging book. "Frank McCourt, author of Angela's Ashes"

Maynard's testimony is priceless. "Mary Cantwell, Vogue"

Riveting and disturbing. "The New York Times Book Review"

Even Salinger loyalists may feel compelled to reexamine their idol. "Glamour"

Dazzling. "San Francisco Chronicle""

Unsparing self-scrutiny...maturity and emotional candor. Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

Absorbing, funny, and emotionally blistering. Jules Siegel, San Francisco Chronicle

A wry, painful, engaging book. Frank McCourt, author of Angela's Ashes

Maynard's testimony is priceless. Mary Cantwell, Vogue

Riveting and disturbing. The New York Times Book Review

Even Salinger loyalists may feel compelled to reexamine their idol. Glamour

Dazzling. San Francisco Chronicle

"

"Unsparing self-scrutiny...maturity and emotional candor." --Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

"Absorbing, funny, and emotionally blistering." --Jules Siegel, San Francisco Chronicle

"A wry, painful, engaging book." --Frank McCourt, author of Angela's Ashes

"Maynard's testimony is priceless." --Mary Cantwell, Vogue

"Riveting and disturbing." --The New York Times Book Review

"Even Salinger loyalists may feel compelled to reexamine their idol." --Glamour

"Dazzling." --San Francisco Chronicle

About this edition

• Publisher: Anchor Books
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 1862300674
• ISBN 13: 9781862300675
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 368