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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
When I mentioned that I was reading these stories to our student worker who is soon going to be a high-school english teacher, she took a deep breath and asked me if I was also reading the critical analyses of them, too. Which of course I'm not (yuck!), but I can certainly see why she'd ask that--in order to get the most out of these brief, disturbing, and cryptic stories one would certainly want some additional insight and guidance. I, for one, tired of the mysteriousness after 4.5 stories. I did enjoy the excellent suck-you-in writing he employs to make the reader care about what seems like something or someone all too ordinary, albeit strange and even a little tragic, before he drops the bomb on you. Clever man, that Salinger.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not the stuff I usually read but I liked it! For me the impressive aspect of these stories is the way Salinger builds dialogues: authentically. People talk past each other, they repeat themselves, they talk to themselves more than to the other person.
Every story has some melancholic absurdity to it which gives them, at least to me, a bitter aftertaste.
My favourites were the first (A Perfect Day for Bananafish) and last story (Teddy).
Every story has some melancholic absurdity to it which gives them, at least to me, a bitter aftertaste.
My favourites were the first (A Perfect Day for Bananafish) and last story (Teddy).
challenging
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Fav quotes:
“I was on my way for lunch to meet my mother, who was going out on the street for the first time after a long illness, and I was feeling ecstatically happy when suddenly, as I was coming in to the Avenue Victor Hugo, which is a street in Paris, I bumped into a chap without any nose. I ask you to please consider that factor, in fact I beg you. It is quite pregnant with meaning.” p 245
“"I am giving Sister Irma her freedom to follow her own destiny. Everybody is a nun." (Tout le monde est une nonne.)”
“I was on my way for lunch to meet my mother, who was going out on the street for the first time after a long illness, and I was feeling ecstatically happy when suddenly, as I was coming in to the Avenue Victor Hugo, which is a street in Paris, I bumped into a chap without any nose. I ask you to please consider that factor, in fact I beg you. It is quite pregnant with meaning.” p 245
“"I am giving Sister Irma her freedom to follow her own destiny. Everybody is a nun." (Tout le monde est une nonne.)”
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
i liked how the first and last story mirror each other. i think i read somewhere that the author used these stories to weave his buddhist studies into the book. these stories were a bit dark and unexpected, but also really good.
i feel like a common theme among the stories is that something was always hidden. whether it was the story of people hiding bad behavior or sensing that there’s more to the story than what’s in front of you, something was always just a little off. makes sense for the guy who wrote catcher in the rye.
i feel like a common theme among the stories is that something was always hidden. whether it was the story of people hiding bad behavior or sensing that there’s more to the story than what’s in front of you, something was always just a little off. makes sense for the guy who wrote catcher in the rye.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting
Good read if you don’t mind dark topics, though it’s not solely around said topics.
My high school Latin teacher gave me a copy of this edition that he found at a flea market some weekend, because he knew I loved J.D. Salinger and he wanted to be super nice. It was just great of him.
Then I gave it away, somewhere, because I already had a newer edition, and because I am AN IDIOT.
I REGRET THIS ALWAYS.
Then I gave it away, somewhere, because I already had a newer edition, and because I am AN IDIOT.
I REGRET THIS ALWAYS.
HELLO HELLO HELLO HELLO HELLO HELLO HELLO HELLO HELLO HELLO LOVE AND KISSES CHALES
Помню, читала в подростковом возрасте "Над пропастью во ржи" - в переводе, а не в оригинале, - мне ужасно не понравилось, и я решила, что Сэлинджер - вообще не мое и от него нужно держаться подальше.
А сейчас как-то импульсивно взялась за "9 рассказов", чисто чтобы убедиться, что ловить там нечего - а это бац, и пять звезд. Простите за юношеский максимализм, Джером, я была не права.
А сейчас как-то импульсивно взялась за "9 рассказов", чисто чтобы убедиться, что ловить там нечего - а это бац, и пять звезд. Простите за юношеский максимализм, Джером, я была не права.
Love it! Great for a quick read, even better for some deep thinking.