J.D. Salinger, Uncle Wiggly in Connecticut

Apparently, Salinger was not a happy person.

I guess being rich, successful and famous – not to mention spending all your time with high-status people at private universities on the East Coast – just isn’t as much fun as it sounds. Not that I would know anything about it…

“With little or no wherewithal for being left alone in a room, Mary Jane stood up and walked over to the window. She drew aside the curtain and leaned her wrist on one of the crosspieces between panes, but, feeling grit, she removed it, rubbed it clean with her other hand, and stood up more erectly. Outside, the filthy slush was visibly turning to ice. Mary Jane let go the curtain and wandered back to the blue chair, passing two heavily stocked bookcases without glancing at any of the titles. Seated, she opened her handbag and used the mirror to look at her teeth. She closed her lips and ran her tongue hard over her upper front teeth, then took another look.”

–J.D. Salinger, Uncle Wiggly in Connecticut.

For more fun with the coastal elites, check out The Pathless Path.