Quote:
Originally Posted by gmw
I've been thinking more about those links about Greene's own affair and the parallels with this book ... and I now find my reactions coloured by that knowledge. I think I preferred it when the book stood on its own, the whole thing seems cheapened by its heavy borrowing.
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For me, a book always stands on its own. The personal element is irrelevant to what I think of it.
Which is not to say that I can't find the personal element interesting, or even illuminating, but whether or not a book works for me it based entirely on its integrity as a text.
(Thank you, Mrs. Miller, my 11th grade English teacher! She was a strong New Critic and her influence still lingers.
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