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A review by armaget
Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Man what a great collection of stories. This writing style just got me every time. Follows a kind of formula, maybe- You get some really realized characters, and here there is, a snap of their lives, either influential or everyday, where you can see the rest of the world seeping in but just for awhile. Overall I'd say a very masterful and appreciable approach to short stories. Luckily my English teacher made us read "For Esme with love and Squalor" which reminded me that J.D Salinger wrote other books too.
Final star count: 33/45 to be precise, but I'm giving it a 5 since I really liked it overall.
Now on to the individual reviews-
A Perfect Day for Bananafish- 5 stars, first reread
This was the first story I read in this book, as I was finishing up the Glass Family and this was the last one left. I wrote a really sappy review about it a couple months ago but want to say again this probably was one of the best stories of the nine. Pretty impeccable vibes- It's sad and pretty terrible, especially when you had all the background information on him, though I also think this could be read first and work just as well, since his suicide is one of the defining things that people in the rest of the books know him by. So, here's this great character. A part of the end of his life. A new species called a bananafish. What else could you want?
Uncle Wiggly in Connecticut- 4 stars
I really liked this one, dense and really personnel but really lovely too. Falls especially in the slice of life with real life just waiting to come in realm. It had the sense of nostalgia for the old life- Uncle Wiggly, and the interposition of the new life, Connecticut and getting drunk with your friend one winter night and reminiscing. Also want to add Uncle Wiggly is an impeccable name for a twisted ankle. I asked my brother what he thought an "uncle wiggly" was and he said it was definitely a metaphor for someone's penis, which was disturbing.
Uncle Wiggly also gives us another Glass member, Walt, who was killed. He was the coiner of the term Uncle Wiggly and also represented kind of the old life. Oh, and how could I forget Jimmery Jimmereeno? Uncle Wiggly is pretty much all of everything in this story- ol Jimmy isn't even excused.
That being said, there were so many tiny parts. It was dense, as I said before, and pretty much begs to be reread a couple of times. But overall pretty great- sad and mixed up, between the personnel and shallow and the deep, old feelings. Yup. What a story.
Just Before the War with the Eskimos- 5 stars
I really liked this one too- Man this is also like that formula I talked about at the beginning, but does especially excellent in the character section. These characters had enormous presence. It was awesome. For just a conversation we got to know this absolute legend, Franklin- A really fascinating character, for sure. This conversation felt really natural, but had so many weird tidbits. A whole life was waiting for everyone outside of this story, which was cool as hell. The last line was also really interesting- "A few years before, it had taken her three days to dispose of the Easter chick she had found dead on the sawdust in the bottom of her waste basket." (In reference to the chicken sandwich Franklin gave Ginny)
I'd say it represents something important for Ginny, something that had happened but that she has to forget eventually. By the end of the conversation I kind of sensed she became fond of Franklin, but overall she recognizes he's living a stagnant life and can't really be a normal person. She has to get rid of his presence, but only slowly. It also gets back to that excellent sense of life going on, behind the story and beyond it.
Man short stories are quickly becoming one of my favorite genres
The Laughing Man- 4 stars
Ah man this one was so good. Also want to say Salinger is really really good about writing kids. I don't know why but I feel like sometimes it's hard to write children- or at least most of the writing about kids I've read has been pretty shit. But these feel like real life kids, just in the way they act and talk. Also true about every other story here that has kids in it, but I thought I'd say it here since the Laughing Man is about a troop of cub-scout esque 4th graders.
I'd like to say I like the Laughing Man so much because it reminds me so much of me- Back in elementary school, when I was in 5th or 6th grade, I was actually the bus storyteller, no joke. Every afternoon I'd get my own troop of 4th grade boys and tell them stories. Mostly I made them up but sometimes when I got home I'd look into these big books of fairy tales my mom had and read through a couple of them and tell the kids the next day the best ones, in simplified versions though, because those old fairy tales are actually pretty articulate. Storytelling on a bus is powerful stuff. I loved how this story captured that.
The other part, the ballad of the Cheif and Mary, was strangely poignant and sad. I really liked the point of view of the little kid, seeing everything how it was happening and reporting it back in such a interesting way- The ending, of this story, the Ongoing Bus-Story, and Mary and the Cheif, was so blunt but worked perfectly. Excellent short story-style! It worked exquisitely.
Down at the Dinghy- 3 stars
So this one wasn't really my favorite- It did follow the formula, except I didn't like the characters that much. Their conversation was pretty fascinating though- That really redeemed it. One of the characters, again, was a transplant from the Glass family- Boo Boo. We actually get to learn a lot about her which was pretty nice. I take it back, she was pretty cool. Oh, the vibes were also excellent in this story- kind of old-like, but sunny at the same time. It also represented an isolated incident among many, which was really cool.
For Esme- With Love and Squalor- 5 stars, first reread
Man well, we already know this one is the masterpiece. It has everything, as it literally is supposed to be the perfect short story, written for Esme, complete with love and squalor. That aspect may be my favorite part- This story was written by the narrator for one person he cared about alot, and it all reflects. It reflects care and humor and old happy feelings. The relationship between the narrator and Esme was really pretty beautiful and fascinating and that's why it works so well.
The second part kind of cements this- Staff Sergeant X is pretty much destroyed after the war, as evident in the torturous conversation he has with his roommate, and the descriptions of him trying to do normal stuff. Man that part was awfully sad, but after he gets Esme's letter- It just proves what can work.
His faculaties may not be fully intact at all, but the fact that this short story is a letter proves that he was able to revive himself- through Esme. It's just full circle! It's satisfying! Definitely a masterpiece.
Pretty Mouth and Green my Eyes- 2 stars
2 stars seems pretty harsh, but in comparing to all the other stories, that's just the level it falls at. However, the more I think about it the more I begin to like it- That's happened for a couple books I've read, mostly classics- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest springs to mind.
However, Pretty Mouth and Green my Eyes was pure vignette- a late night phone call, except the conversation was not very interesting and the characters were not very good? The part I like best was probably the aesthetic, honestly- there were interesting details, good things that weren't really numerous enough to redeem it, however.
De Daumier-Smith's Blue Period- 2 stars
This was a pretty interesting story- It may have been the longest one? It's where the most happens, certainly, though I don't like it very much. However, it made for a interesting but pretty weird story. De Daumier-Smith himself was a weird-ass character- I'm not sure if I really liked him. But the other stuff was vaguely entertaining at least, but again not my favorite.
Teddy- 3 stars
This was the story that reminded me most of Franny and Zooey- lots of religious, philosophical elements, though still tied together with excellent characters. As this was a short story, it also packed a lot of punch in a short amount of time- this story was fascinating, brief, and almost terrifying. Teddy is a really intriguing character- Everyone seems to think so. Just how he acts is reason enough, though the effects he has on everyone around him is interesting too. Plus, the ending was just really really great.
Song association- Five Years Time by Noah and the Whale. I don’t really know why, there isn’t really a story in here that fits in specifically, but it just makes me thing of this.
Final star count: 33/45 to be precise, but I'm giving it a 5 since I really liked it overall.
Now on to the individual reviews-
A Perfect Day for Bananafish- 5 stars, first reread
This was the first story I read in this book, as I was finishing up the Glass Family and this was the last one left. I wrote a really sappy review about it a couple months ago but want to say again this probably was one of the best stories of the nine. Pretty impeccable vibes- It's sad and pretty terrible, especially when you had all the background information on him, though I also think this could be read first and work just as well, since his suicide is one of the defining things that people in the rest of the books know him by. So, here's this great character. A part of the end of his life. A new species called a bananafish. What else could you want?
Uncle Wiggly in Connecticut- 4 stars
I really liked this one, dense and really personnel but really lovely too. Falls especially in the slice of life with real life just waiting to come in realm. It had the sense of nostalgia for the old life- Uncle Wiggly, and the interposition of the new life, Connecticut and getting drunk with your friend one winter night and reminiscing. Also want to add Uncle Wiggly is an impeccable name for a twisted ankle. I asked my brother what he thought an "uncle wiggly" was and he said it was definitely a metaphor for someone's penis, which was disturbing.
Uncle Wiggly also gives us another Glass member, Walt, who was killed. He was the coiner of the term Uncle Wiggly and also represented kind of the old life. Oh, and how could I forget Jimmery Jimmereeno? Uncle Wiggly is pretty much all of everything in this story- ol Jimmy isn't even excused.
That being said, there were so many tiny parts. It was dense, as I said before, and pretty much begs to be reread a couple of times. But overall pretty great- sad and mixed up, between the personnel and shallow and the deep, old feelings. Yup. What a story.
Just Before the War with the Eskimos- 5 stars
I really liked this one too- Man this is also like that formula I talked about at the beginning, but does especially excellent in the character section. These characters had enormous presence. It was awesome. For just a conversation we got to know this absolute legend, Franklin- A really fascinating character, for sure. This conversation felt really natural, but had so many weird tidbits. A whole life was waiting for everyone outside of this story, which was cool as hell. The last line was also really interesting- "A few years before, it had taken her three days to dispose of the Easter chick she had found dead on the sawdust in the bottom of her waste basket." (In reference to the chicken sandwich Franklin gave Ginny)
I'd say it represents something important for Ginny, something that had happened but that she has to forget eventually. By the end of the conversation I kind of sensed she became fond of Franklin, but overall she recognizes he's living a stagnant life and can't really be a normal person. She has to get rid of his presence, but only slowly. It also gets back to that excellent sense of life going on, behind the story and beyond it.
Man short stories are quickly becoming one of my favorite genres
The Laughing Man- 4 stars
Ah man this one was so good. Also want to say Salinger is really really good about writing kids. I don't know why but I feel like sometimes it's hard to write children- or at least most of the writing about kids I've read has been pretty shit. But these feel like real life kids, just in the way they act and talk. Also true about every other story here that has kids in it, but I thought I'd say it here since the Laughing Man is about a troop of cub-scout esque 4th graders.
I'd like to say I like the Laughing Man so much because it reminds me so much of me- Back in elementary school, when I was in 5th or 6th grade, I was actually the bus storyteller, no joke. Every afternoon I'd get my own troop of 4th grade boys and tell them stories. Mostly I made them up but sometimes when I got home I'd look into these big books of fairy tales my mom had and read through a couple of them and tell the kids the next day the best ones, in simplified versions though, because those old fairy tales are actually pretty articulate. Storytelling on a bus is powerful stuff. I loved how this story captured that.
The other part, the ballad of the Cheif and Mary, was strangely poignant and sad. I really liked the point of view of the little kid, seeing everything how it was happening and reporting it back in such a interesting way- The ending, of this story, the Ongoing Bus-Story, and Mary and the Cheif, was so blunt but worked perfectly. Excellent short story-style! It worked exquisitely.
Down at the Dinghy- 3 stars
So this one wasn't really my favorite- It did follow the formula, except I didn't like the characters that much. Their conversation was pretty fascinating though- That really redeemed it. One of the characters, again, was a transplant from the Glass family- Boo Boo. We actually get to learn a lot about her which was pretty nice. I take it back, she was pretty cool. Oh, the vibes were also excellent in this story- kind of old-like, but sunny at the same time. It also represented an isolated incident among many, which was really cool.
For Esme- With Love and Squalor- 5 stars, first reread
Man well, we already know this one is the masterpiece. It has everything, as it literally is supposed to be the perfect short story, written for Esme, complete with love and squalor. That aspect may be my favorite part- This story was written by the narrator for one person he cared about alot, and it all reflects. It reflects care and humor and old happy feelings. The relationship between the narrator and Esme was really pretty beautiful and fascinating and that's why it works so well.
The second part kind of cements this- Staff Sergeant X is pretty much destroyed after the war, as evident in the torturous conversation he has with his roommate, and the descriptions of him trying to do normal stuff. Man that part was awfully sad, but after he gets Esme's letter- It just proves what can work.
His faculaties may not be fully intact at all, but the fact that this short story is a letter proves that he was able to revive himself- through Esme. It's just full circle! It's satisfying! Definitely a masterpiece.
Pretty Mouth and Green my Eyes- 2 stars
2 stars seems pretty harsh, but in comparing to all the other stories, that's just the level it falls at. However, the more I think about it the more I begin to like it- That's happened for a couple books I've read, mostly classics- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest springs to mind.
However, Pretty Mouth and Green my Eyes was pure vignette- a late night phone call, except the conversation was not very interesting and the characters were not very good? The part I like best was probably the aesthetic, honestly- there were interesting details, good things that weren't really numerous enough to redeem it, however.
De Daumier-Smith's Blue Period- 2 stars
This was a pretty interesting story- It may have been the longest one? It's where the most happens, certainly, though I don't like it very much. However, it made for a interesting but pretty weird story. De Daumier-Smith himself was a weird-ass character- I'm not sure if I really liked him. But the other stuff was vaguely entertaining at least, but again not my favorite.
Teddy- 3 stars
This was the story that reminded me most of Franny and Zooey- lots of religious, philosophical elements, though still tied together with excellent characters. As this was a short story, it also packed a lot of punch in a short amount of time- this story was fascinating, brief, and almost terrifying. Teddy is a really intriguing character- Everyone seems to think so. Just how he acts is reason enough, though the effects he has on everyone around him is interesting too. Plus, the ending was just really really great.
Song association- Five Years Time by Noah and the Whale. I don’t really know why, there isn’t really a story in here that fits in specifically, but it just makes me thing of this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Suicide, and Grief
Minor: Animal death