Rating:  Summary: So sad, you'll laugh. Review: /Nine Stories, by J.D. Salinger is a compilation of nine classic Salinger tales each with the intriguing characters for which the author is known and loved. /The first story, "A Perfect Day for Bananafish", draws the reader into the light, airy atmosphere of a summer day at the beach only to devastate with an ending not for the weak of heart. Each tale to follow paints an increasingly intriguing picture of sometimes frighteningly real people in uncommon situations that the author somehow manages to present as almost ordinary. /For Salinger fans or new comers to his work, Nine Stories is a must. Read it one story at a time if you can manage to put it down.
Rating:  Summary: Nice story, but too complicated for me Review: About the "Bananafish": I know that banana symbolizes love in Indian folklore (and probably buddhist phylosophy), what do numbers 6 and 78 mean?The story seems to be an allegory, but I can't get it completely. What about feets and ankles? It should be some reason why they are mention several times during the story. Was Salinger a feet fetishist or this is another buddhist symbol?
Rating:  Summary: Uncomfortable but first rate writing Review: Salinger stories, typically, make me feel very uncomfortable. I do not like them because I do not like brussel sprouts. However, standing in the produce section of the grocery, I'll think, "maybe, I'll try brussel sprouts again. Maybe I'll like them today." I haven't liked them yet. A Perfect Day for Bananafish is about a guy named Seymour Glass who, I might add, some people think is Sargent X in To Esme with Love and Squalor. Seymour is living the death of his belief system via intellectual trauma due to war. War=the suspension of morality and to a highly moral individual a bananafish eats too many bananas and can't find his way back to life, back to a sem-balance of 'reality' The outcome is inevitable-some things are not acceptable. Sorta William Blake-ish. By far, the priority pieces in this book are Teddy and Down at the Dingy. Teddy because he is God and we are all God. Acceptable and intertwined with one another. Unwilling to separate from the material anchors which tie us down to a temporal existence. Down at the Dinghy because the story is about a boy who receives 'radio transmissions' in the form of human feeling. In so much, the words me nothing, the feeling means everything. I have to admit, it reminds me of my own son, who has not let his Batman shirt leave his body for 3 weeks. Not only because he has a special affinity for Batman but because the stability of the shirt makes him feel safe and strong. This review is precisely why Salinger makes me feel uncomfortable--I prefer to live in denial and feel secure. Maybe I should buy a Batman shirt.
Rating:  Summary: fabulous Review: This is one of the few books I have ever not been able to tear away from. The endings are abrupt and thought provoking. The characters seemed complex and interesting however I could tell by certain situations and dialogue that there were a lot of Holden Caulfield's in it. I was, however, very touched and thought a lot about the book some time after reading it. The writing, as always it superb and the characters are three dimensional. Personally I like it but it is important to remember the time and settings of the book and Salinger's writing style. I thought that all of the stories were neither better nor worse than the next; they were just different. They showed different perspectives on life and how one views it. Even though Salinger may not have expereinced everything he worte about, it made me feel as if he had, or even as if I were there. If a writer can captivate a situation or feeling as well as that, you know he must be good. This book is just that, except maybe I could go so far as to say it's fabulous.
Rating:  Summary: A wonderful story Review: When they ask for a review, I never know what to write. 'Nine Stories' is the second Salinger book I've ever read, and, as always, I'm captivated by his writing style and ability to create characters I've seen when looking in the mirror, or glancing around a crowded area. The greatest tradgedy of Salinger is not found in his stories of depression, mental illness, or quiet desperation. The great tradgedy is that he only wrote four books. I like 'Nine Stories' due to it's crazy, 3-dimensional characters, and the insanity of the plots like 'A Perfect Day for Bananafish' and 'The Laughing Man'. 'DePalmer Smith's Blue Period' is the best character study I've seen in any book in the English language. The only complaint I have is that Salinger settles into a repetitive procedure of bringing all his characters to life in the same way. I might have liked to read one story in this book that starred a character completely unlike the others. Someone said in an earlier review that 'there is a Holden inside each of these people.' This is why I did not give the book a perfect 10. While it is not boring, I think Salinger could have done more given his tremendous writing powers. Overall, however, this is a not-to-be-missed book.
Rating:  Summary: This was the best book ever! Review: This was a great book. This is one of the books that you will finish in a week. A book you can not put down. Some stories outshine others. The good short stories are: A Day For Bannanafish and The Laughing Man. The other stories that weren't that good were:Down at Dinghy. If you liked The Catcher in the Rye then you will definetly like this one! A lot of the charectors will remind of Holden. Go out and buy it today!
Rating:  Summary: Just some damn good reading Review: Nine Stories is simply excellent, entertaining, thought-provoking reading. Although there were a couple that I considered to be below average (Blue Period, Down at the Dinghy), Salinger's brilliance in his others made up for them. (Particularly in Teddy, Bananafish, and Esme).
Rating:  Summary: EXCELLENT Review: i thought this book was one of the best i've ever read. However, the first several stories are the best in the book. towards the end, the stories aren't that good. however the whole book has a good sense of realism, and gives the feeling of someone telling you everything. its not like jane austen or something, where you have to constantly concentrate and re-read. you have to re-read this book several times too, but not because you dont understand- but to catch the deeper meanings.
Rating:  Summary: gold and garbage Review: The good stories (Laughing Man, Esme, Dinghy) are tens.
The bad stories (Bananafish, Green My Eyes) get negatives.
Rating:  Summary: Classic Salinger story-telling Review: This is probably the best collection of short stories I have yet to read. Every story is classic Salinger. The characters seem simple at first, but as the stories move forward, you learn how complex each individual is. Being a Salinger fan, I loved it. I wouldn't recommend "Nine Stories" to just anyone. You have to love what Salinger does with his character's, their seemingly normal (yet ultimately bizzare) lives, and how through not being flashy he creates somthing timeless
|