Letters to the Editor
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Carlos Castenada sounds like J.D. Salinger
Though I doubt we'll see that expose for some time to come. Same manipulation of women, same demands to throw away the past, cut off contact with all family members, and live as a slave. Same kind of stupid, dependent women. A couple of men thrown in, in Castenada's case. (Well, at least Salinger doesn't seem to have asked anyone to off themselves...should they be grateful for small favors?) I don’t respect this kind of man, but I don't have much sympathy for the weak minded people who give into them, either. “Oh, dear, you reject me if I don’t follow your rules!” WTF? Some people have no backbone. This isn’t about dark legacies. It’s about dim brains.
But Marshall is working a con as surely as Castenda did. Why is it the “compound” rather than his “home”? What is the supposed sinister motivation behind the praise Wagner’s book received from Updike, and his nomination for the Pen/Faulkner Book Award? (I suppose if they think the writing’s good, they think the writing’s good.) Why try to make this sound like a David Koresh/Charles Manson thing when it’s really just a money scam and some weak minded sycophants. And then, after all the portentous language, there’s the “he wasn’t all bad” sop near the end.
This article is mostly a lot of hot air.