***About the Author***
Jerome David Salinger was born in New York on New Years' Day 1919 to a Jewish father and a Scottish/Irish mother. Salinger bounced from school to school, including Military Academy, never staying long enough to complete even a year. He later attended evening writing classes through Columbia University where he studied under Story Magazine editor, Whit Burnett. It was Burnett who first recognised Salinger's talent and published a short vignette, The Young Folks in his magazine.
Like many young men at the time, Salinger was drafted in 1942 and saw action in battles such as the Battle of the Bulge. His experiences left him emotionally drained and he was hospitalized for a few weeks for with combat stress. It is clear that some of Salinger's works were heavily influenced by his time in the war.
By 1948, Salinger was publishing almost exclusively in Yorker. The Catcher in the Rye was published in 1951 with Holden Caulfield, a semi auto-biographical character as the lead. It was an immediate success, The novel was banned in some countries, and some US locales, because of its offensive use of language; "goddam" appears 255 times. The book is still widely read and still sells about 250,000 copies per year.
In 1953, Nine Stories was published with great success although Salinger had already begun to tightly regulate publicity. He would not allow publishers to illustrate the dust jacket, so that his readers would have no preconceived notion of how the characters looked.
After the notoriety of The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger gradually withdrew into himself isolating himself in rural parts of New Hampshire where he had moved from New York. Great speculation was made of Salinger's personal life, his marriages and relationships (including at 53 with an 18 year old writer), his children and even his faith which has included dabbling in Zen Buddhism, Hinduism, and even Dianetics, better known today as Scientology.
A talented yet complicated and difficult man, Salinger has earned his places as a modern day classic
***More about the stories***
*A Perfect Day for Bananafish*
Taking place at a beach resort, Bananafish details the last day in the life of Seymour Glass. It is a dark introspection whose dramatic climax serves as an introduction to the rest of the book.
*Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut*
A portrait of unfulfilled lives, this is a story of two women who get drunk one suburban afternoon. Disillusioned by life's imperfection, they have learned little and descend into self-indulgence.
*Just Before the War with the Eskimos*
We are introduced to the cynically selfish Ginnie Mannox and her tennis partner, Selena Graff. The bulk of this story centers around the meeting of Ginnie and Selena's brother, Franklin who bears a striking similarity to Holden Caulfield. With significance instilled in every word, and symbolism stacked upon symbolism, it demands a slow and careful read.
*The Laughing Man*
The Laughing Man is a story within a story. The narrator remembers how, at nine, he and his fellow Comanches would be picked up each afternoon by the Chief -a Staten Island law student paid to keep them busy. At the end of each day, the Chief regales them with the ongoing saga of a deformed, hero -criminal.
*Down at the Dinghy*
This is a glimpse into the life of Boo Boo Tannenbaum whose son, Lionel has retreated to hiding in the hold of his father's boat. The interaction between mother and son is quite tender
*For Esmé - with Love and Squalor*
For Esmé-with Love and Squalor" is also one of the most autobiographical. The story's author, Sergeant X, meets the young Esmé and her little brother while stationed in Britain during WWII. It is the storey of a lonely and apprehensive young man to whom the small amount of companionship he gets from his brief meeting with Esme and the kindness she later shows is priceless.
*Pretty Mouth and Green My Eyes*
This is the story of a mid-night phone conversation between two friends. The first man calls concerned that his wife is having an affair after she fails to return from a party and leans on his friend for support unaware that the man he is speaking to is lying next to his wife in bed. There is an interesting twist to be found at the end.
*De Daumier-Smith's Blue Period*
A story of a talented, yet pretentious young man who moves to Montreal to become an instructor at an art school after lying about his qualifications. Disillusioned by his student's submission, he finds himself falling in love with the work of a nun who has shown promise.
*Teddy*
this is the story that binds together this collection together. In this story we meet ten-year-old Theodore Mc Ardle, on board an ocean-liner heading home from a European trip. In we meet the genius-child fluent is matters such as eastern religion and philosophy. The brilliance and somewhat shocking concept of this story comes in a giant twist at the end.
***What I liked***
I am a great fan of short stories and so I knew I was on to a winner with this book. Although each story was completely separate, I loved that there was a connection felt as the reader went from one story to the next. There was a natural flow which is not easy to capture. Salinger used certain methods to assist with this. The one link which I found put me at ease as a reader was the continuity of each reader smoking a cigarette. It was a small detail but was well placed in each story.