Status
Available
Call number
Call number
SC Sal
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
Bantam Books (1989), Edition: 23rd
Description
The "original, first-rate, serious, and beautiful" short fiction (New York Times Book Review) that introduced J. D. Salinger to American readers in the years after World War II, including "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" and the first appearance of Salinger's fictional Glass family. Nine exceptional stories from one of the great literary voices of the twentieth century. Witty, urbane, and frequently affecting, Nine Stories sits alongside Salinger's very best work--a treasure that will passed down for many generations to come. The stories: A Perfect Day for Bananafish Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut Just Before the War with the Eskimos The Laughing Man Down at the Dinghy For Esmé--with Love and Squalor Pretty Mouth and Green My Eyes De Daumier-Smith's Blue Period Teddy… (more)
Subjects
Original publication date
1953
Similar in this library
User reviews
LibraryThing member rocketjk
I hadn't read these stories in many, many years, and I was curious as to how this collection, published almost 60 years ago, would hold up for me. Re-reading Salinger is also always somewhat an exercise in nostalgia for me, as his style, so singular, puts me in mind of the time in my life when I
Anyway, one or two of the stories, most especially "Uncle Wiggly in Connecticut," I found over-wrought and not especially effective. One or two were good but went on too long, I thought. But there are several that are still and will always be, for me at least, examples of short story genius. "A Perfect Day for Bananafish," perhaps the Salinger short story most often anthologized, "The Laughing Man," "Down in the Dinghy," and, most especially, "For Esme--With Love and Squalor" are terrific and timeless. In these, Salinger best gets at the American human condition post-World War Two, as American's took stock, counted their losses, and tried to wade through the hollow, enforced "normality" of the materialistic world that was cropping up around them. As a teenager, it didn't occur to me as it did in this latest reading the extent to which almost all of these stories revolve around the damage done to families, psyches and dreams by the experience and/or consequences of the war.
Show More
first read him, and of the wonderful 11th grade literature teacher who introduced me to Catcher in the Rye and at least some of the stories in this collection.Anyway, one or two of the stories, most especially "Uncle Wiggly in Connecticut," I found over-wrought and not especially effective. One or two were good but went on too long, I thought. But there are several that are still and will always be, for me at least, examples of short story genius. "A Perfect Day for Bananafish," perhaps the Salinger short story most often anthologized, "The Laughing Man," "Down in the Dinghy," and, most especially, "For Esme--With Love and Squalor" are terrific and timeless. In these, Salinger best gets at the American human condition post-World War Two, as American's took stock, counted their losses, and tried to wade through the hollow, enforced "normality" of the materialistic world that was cropping up around them. As a teenager, it didn't occur to me as it did in this latest reading the extent to which almost all of these stories revolve around the damage done to families, psyches and dreams by the experience and/or consequences of the war.
Show Less
LibraryThing member cinesnail88
I often wonder why Salinger garners so much fame for Catcher in the Rye and his other works remain unpraised. Catcher is by far at the bottom of the pile in terms of his works - it's not a bad book, but it's nothing compared to this stuff.
LibraryThing member krizia_lazaro
It was a good selection of short stories. I love how open ended most of them are. I also love the fact the most of them have multiple interpretations. Two stories stuck out to me, "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" and "Teddy". Both have controversial and gory endings.
LibraryThing member upthera44
This is a collection of short stories and vignettes which act as snapshots of the lives of the characters within them. Some are rather short and feel a bit incomplete or idle, but I think this was intended by Salinger so as to not bog down the reader with overt themes or ideology and simply to show
'A Perfect Day for Bananafish' depicts a young man recently discharged from WWII on vacation with his wife, who spends the entirety of the story on the phone with her mother discussing her husband's mental state and reassuring her that he isn't completely dangerous. The husband, the main character, is rather indifferent and distant and only brightens up when he is talking with a toddler-aged girl with whom he swims in the ocean and tells the tragic tale of the bananafish.
'For Esme with Love and Squalor' wins the award both for best title and best story in the collection (rivaled closely by 'Teddy'). It is about a young American soldier who is in training in England not long before the Invasion of Normandy. He keeps to himself and seems to be a rather reflective guy, walking around this small English town. He meets a very young girl, maybe 13 or 14, who is having tea with her family in a cafe. She sits down with him and they share a very personal and odd conversation in which she asks him to write to her from the front and also to write her a story-- preferably "about squalor". The dialogue and strange connection between these two people, who are from rather separate worlds, shows the way people can unexpectedly find each other and have a surprising, almost spiritual connection.
'Teddy', the final story in the book, is about an extremely precocious 6 year old boy who is a dedicated Buddhist and is convinced that he has been reincarnated. He is being studied by scientists and psychologists who marvel at his intelligence and spiritual insights and who, unable to help themselves upon learning that he believes he can predict the future, demand to know their future and when they might die. The boy is on a cruise ship with his parents, an eccentric and somewhat cynical couple. He wanders off on his own and has a long conversation with a man on the deck of the ship in which he casually predicts his own death just before it occurs and finishes the story. This story is really about the conflict between logic and spirituality, the clash between the rational and irrational world. It's one of the most interesting discussions of spirituality and eastern religion that I've encountered.
Show More
moments in peoples' lives. I'm thinking particularly of 'Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut', 'Just Before the War with the Eskimos', 'Down at the Dingy' and 'Pretty Mouth and Green Eyes' when I say that some of the stories feel a little light on purpose. Still, they are well-written and worth reading. The remaining stories are all rather touching, each in its own peculiar way, and rival 'Catcher in the Rye' and 'Franny and Zooey' as Salinger's very best works.'A Perfect Day for Bananafish' depicts a young man recently discharged from WWII on vacation with his wife, who spends the entirety of the story on the phone with her mother discussing her husband's mental state and reassuring her that he isn't completely dangerous. The husband, the main character, is rather indifferent and distant and only brightens up when he is talking with a toddler-aged girl with whom he swims in the ocean and tells the tragic tale of the bananafish.
'For Esme with Love and Squalor' wins the award both for best title and best story in the collection (rivaled closely by 'Teddy'). It is about a young American soldier who is in training in England not long before the Invasion of Normandy. He keeps to himself and seems to be a rather reflective guy, walking around this small English town. He meets a very young girl, maybe 13 or 14, who is having tea with her family in a cafe. She sits down with him and they share a very personal and odd conversation in which she asks him to write to her from the front and also to write her a story-- preferably "about squalor". The dialogue and strange connection between these two people, who are from rather separate worlds, shows the way people can unexpectedly find each other and have a surprising, almost spiritual connection.
'Teddy', the final story in the book, is about an extremely precocious 6 year old boy who is a dedicated Buddhist and is convinced that he has been reincarnated. He is being studied by scientists and psychologists who marvel at his intelligence and spiritual insights and who, unable to help themselves upon learning that he believes he can predict the future, demand to know their future and when they might die. The boy is on a cruise ship with his parents, an eccentric and somewhat cynical couple. He wanders off on his own and has a long conversation with a man on the deck of the ship in which he casually predicts his own death just before it occurs and finishes the story. This story is really about the conflict between logic and spirituality, the clash between the rational and irrational world. It's one of the most interesting discussions of spirituality and eastern religion that I've encountered.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Magadri
This is a great collection of Salinger stories. I especially liked The Laughing Man, Teddy, and A Perfect Day for Bananafish. Though not much generally happens in the stories, it is the essence and feelings that they evoke that really did it for me.
LibraryThing member stipe168
not enough can be said.. all 9 are superb and beautiful. salinger writes the child's voice better than anyone i've ever read. and he's hilarious! which always helps. you'll laugh and you'll cry, what more can you want?
LibraryThing member hippieness
A classic JD Salinger at his cynical, sarcastic best! Love it!!!
LibraryThing member whitewavedarling
Oddly elegant, these stories demand appreciatins. At the same time though, some of the quirks of writing and various characters work better in some places than others. This is one collection where it's the style and not the subjectmatter that lets you know all of the stories came from the same
Show More
hand, but in that same way, they may get a trifle repetitive if you read them all side by side, regardless of order. Show Less
LibraryThing member shawnd
Wow. This is like drinking liquid chocolate - don't do it all at once. Inhuman writing, in short doses. The stories are great. There is some variation in the stories, a couple are slower and flow a little less. The best ones are heart-wrenching. Please read this.
LibraryThing member Kisners42
I wouldn't say I liked all the stories in this book, but I did enjoy enough of them. Personally I've always found Salinger's "Glass Family" stories much more interesting and enjoyable than his more popular Catcher in the Rye.
- Peter K.
- Peter K.
LibraryThing member figre
I’ve read more than one book at a time many times (as I’m sure many of us have), but I’ve never been in a situation where I felt one book may have effected the reading of another. But I wonder if that is not what has happened to me here.
As I began this collection, my first thought was,
So, what was I reading concurrently that may have caused my gears to shift too slowly? A collection of humor pieces titled “Mirth of a Nation”. (My review of that collection is available if you are so inclined.) I chose the Salinger on purpose, feeling that I needed a break in the humor pieces and guessing that Salinger would be just the antidote. Well, antidote it may have been, but I wonder if it was not to the detriment of the antidote itself. So, I now figure I’ll have to go back in and reread some of the opening stories because, as I continued to read through, the stories got better and better. (Or, maybe more to the point, I became better at reading them.) Most have that same kind of seminal event that brings them to conclusion, (or even that sometimes too artsy “He looked at the blue sweater” type ending) but they fit better. And each story left me thinking about the story, how the pieces worked to a final understanding of the events, and what the writer was trying to say. To the point that the last story, “Teddy”, which also ends with a suicide (whoops, forgot the spoiler alert) worked seamlessly. Haunting, intriguing, memorable stories. The fact that a quick glance at the title and a couple of paragraphs can bring back to me the entire story says volumes about the quality and lasting power of each.
As I began this collection, my first thought was,
Show More
“Uh…What?” Not an unusual reaction for some short story collections, the kind of stories you read through, wonder what you read, why they wrote it, and, ultimately, why you wasted your time. But that wasn’t the “uh-what” moment I was having as I began this collection. For example, the first story (“A Perfect Day for Bananafish”) is perfectly engrossing. The shift between perspectives works well and there is a sense of foreboding that plays perfectly. But then, in the end, [Warning! Spoiler alert (Do you hate that phrase as much as I do? This is not really a spoiler because, the event is perfectly foreshadowed)] when the soldier commits suicide, in spite of the excellent foreshadowing I’ve mentioned, I still just looked at the ending and thought “So???” However, my sense that I was about to enter into well-written stories that held no purpose slowly dissolved as I read through the collection.So, what was I reading concurrently that may have caused my gears to shift too slowly? A collection of humor pieces titled “Mirth of a Nation”. (My review of that collection is available if you are so inclined.) I chose the Salinger on purpose, feeling that I needed a break in the humor pieces and guessing that Salinger would be just the antidote. Well, antidote it may have been, but I wonder if it was not to the detriment of the antidote itself. So, I now figure I’ll have to go back in and reread some of the opening stories because, as I continued to read through, the stories got better and better. (Or, maybe more to the point, I became better at reading them.) Most have that same kind of seminal event that brings them to conclusion, (or even that sometimes too artsy “He looked at the blue sweater” type ending) but they fit better. And each story left me thinking about the story, how the pieces worked to a final understanding of the events, and what the writer was trying to say. To the point that the last story, “Teddy”, which also ends with a suicide (whoops, forgot the spoiler alert) worked seamlessly. Haunting, intriguing, memorable stories. The fact that a quick glance at the title and a couple of paragraphs can bring back to me the entire story says volumes about the quality and lasting power of each.
Show Less
LibraryThing member 912greens
5 stars for Esme with love and squalor, alone. No, wait! Six stars for Esme. It's my all time favorite short story. (Do people really always kiss sideways?!)
LibraryThing member xicanti
Like most North Americans, I read The Catcher in the Rye in high school. I loved it, but I never really felt the need to read any of Salinger's other work. I found Catcher compelling, but not addictive.
Now, having read Nine Stories, I wish I'd sought out all his other books years ago. This was
Many of these circumstances relate to World War II and its effects on soldiers and their loved ones, but I wouldn't say that war is a theme here so much as a shared experience. Salinger doesn't come right out and say anything about what these people have gone through. He never comments in an overt way. He gives us these characters' words, (and, in the first person stories, their thoughts), and lets us make of them what we will. It's up to the reader to figure out what happens to each character and what each story means. I found it enthralling and, in many cases, deeply moving.
Highly recommended.
Now, having read Nine Stories, I wish I'd sought out all his other books years ago. This was
Show More
excellent. Salinger has a real talent for dialogue; his characters speak very naturally, and it's the interpersonal conflicts that come to light through their conversations that really make this book shine. These stories aren't big, world-shaking exposes; instead, they're quiet, reflective examinations of how certain people react in particular circumstances. Many of these circumstances relate to World War II and its effects on soldiers and their loved ones, but I wouldn't say that war is a theme here so much as a shared experience. Salinger doesn't come right out and say anything about what these people have gone through. He never comments in an overt way. He gives us these characters' words, (and, in the first person stories, their thoughts), and lets us make of them what we will. It's up to the reader to figure out what happens to each character and what each story means. I found it enthralling and, in many cases, deeply moving.
Highly recommended.
Show Less
LibraryThing member RMSmithJr
Not excessively memorable. Standard collection of repackaged and republished magazine short stories. Warm up for imminent reading of Catcher in the Rye.
LibraryThing member duck2ducks
What a bizarrely uneven book.
First time I've read Salinger. The first story was shocking and disturbing - the kind of disturbing that seriously makes you wonder about reading more. A good start.
But after that, for the most part, the stories ... aren't very good. The writing is generally
Which is why it was so astonishing to find that the two final stories in the collection - De Daumier-Smith's Blue Period and (to an only slightly lesser extent) Teddy - are absolute gems. They're funny, they're fascinating, the writing is really interesting, and they both really invite careful study. Had the rest of the stories been anywhere near to this level, I'd have rated the collection much higher.
A perplexing mix.
First time I've read Salinger. The first story was shocking and disturbing - the kind of disturbing that seriously makes you wonder about reading more. A good start.
But after that, for the most part, the stories ... aren't very good. The writing is generally
Show More
unremarkable, and most of them don't have anything original to say, or have anything noteworthy actually happen. The recurring theme that returns again and again is simply "War screws you up" - which is valid, and was bound to be in the public consciousness at the time of publication ... but isn't very original, either in the idea or in any of the presentations of the idea.Which is why it was so astonishing to find that the two final stories in the collection - De Daumier-Smith's Blue Period and (to an only slightly lesser extent) Teddy - are absolute gems. They're funny, they're fascinating, the writing is really interesting, and they both really invite careful study. Had the rest of the stories been anywhere near to this level, I'd have rated the collection much higher.
A perplexing mix.
Show Less
LibraryThing member GaryPatella
All of the stories are highly enjoyable. And this is the only Salinger work I know of where you get to see a living Seymour Glass. If you wish to read Salinger, you should probably start with this.
LibraryThing member erinjamieson
Of the nine short stories in the compilation, "A Perfect Day for Bananafish", " The Laughing Man", and "For Esme-with Love and Squalor" were my favorites. These short stories are extremely powerful little vignettes of a cohesive world that Salinger has created for all of his novels to take place.
Show More
They are appropriately vignettes because what is captured in narration is just a little piece of bigger stories being told. We rarely see fresh beginnings and endings, but rather we are placed in the middle of a plot and left to our imagination for a great deal of his shorts. His illustrations and characters are potent and clear. Show Less
LibraryThing member NateJordon
These nine Salinger stories evoke many of the same sentiments in Catcher in the Rye - adults are screwed up and being a kid sucks. Though worthy themes to explore, I simply found this collection a bit dry. Though well-written impressionistic vignettes, nothing really happens in these stories. I
Show More
liked them, but was disappointed overall. Show Less
LibraryThing member cdeuker
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this collection. I've avoided rereading CATCHER IN THE RYE for fear that the magic would not be there. I don't remember liking this collection all that much, wasn't expecting much, and got a lot. Laughing Man struck me as the strongest story. Lots going on--the
Show More
power of language, imagination, love to thrill but also to crush the heart. Show Less
LibraryThing member BALE
"For Esme - with Love and Squalor " is sad, yet beautiful. A must read for Salinger lovers' (sorry J.D., can't help myself, you are an exceptional writer). As in most of his stories, Salinger effectively combines dry humor and wit with intelligent observations concerning the human condition,
Show More
love, war, and the American culture. Show Less
LibraryThing member rickstill122
So many levels upon which to enjoy Salinger; the language, the humor, the art, the characters, I especially hold dear the characters he creates and releases over the course of a few sentences, whom the reader then must live with until death. For instance, when the character in "the laughing man"
Show More
describes "three girls in my life who struck me as having unclassifiably great beauty at first sight. One was a thin girl in a black bathing suit who was having a lot of trouble putting up an orange umbrella at Jones Beach, circa 1936. The second was a girl aboard a Carribean cruise ship in 1939, who threw her cigarette lighter at a porpoise..." Reading Salinger is a religious experience. Show Less
LibraryThing member DRFP
Wonderfully written, yet each tale is a little too brief to have the same sort of meaning put into both Franny and Zooey short stories. There are some gems in here, no doubt, but Salinger does seem to rely too heavy on the sudden, surprise ending in these works. Once or twice you can forgive; but
Still a very good collection but Salinger, despite his great skill, isn't a Raymond Carver when it comes to the short story.
Show More
several of these nine tales rely on a sort of twist ending, something one imagines is below an author as talented as Salinger.Still a very good collection but Salinger, despite his great skill, isn't a Raymond Carver when it comes to the short story.
Show Less
LibraryThing member twright3
Before this I assumed Salinger's genius was limited to Holden Caulfield. That's just not at all the case. The first story alone is worth the price of admission.
LibraryThing member rosehurdercarney
Extremely well written. I enjoyed this collection far more than Catcher in the Rye.
LibraryThing member isabelx
Nine stories from the late 1940s and early 1950s. I found the later stories in the book more interesting than the first few, and my favourite by far was "For Esmé - With Love and Squalor", just because it was so unexpected.
Pages
198