Might also explain his relative intolerance for less difficult writers - Conrad is a weirder mind, with a more labyrinthine manner of expression to try to fathom than Fitzgerald. Not to say Fitzgerald's uncomplex, but he did often deliberately shoot for something not just universal but normative. Salinger hatches from him pretty naturally.

But it's been forever since I read much of him at once. I remember annoying my whole high school AP class, teacher included, by arguing that Gatsby must have been responsible for getting Carraway onto Long Island, since he's the most essential part of his very elaborate plan. They thought I had the conspiracy crazies. I cited page numbers though, there were clues in there.