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Summary: The Unmentioned Story
Review: I enjoyed this book. It was entertaining. I don't have much of a mind for analyzing things or even really just figuring out all the details or meanings, but I guess anyone can get something out of any of these stories. I've read most of the other reviews and nobody mentions "Just Before the War with the Eskimoes." I'm only going to say it's one of the better ones because of the dialogue. It was lively and enjoyable.
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Summary: No cure for banana fever.
Review: After reading "Catcher In the Rye," "Seymour: An Introduction," and "A Perfect Day for Bananafish," I drew a definite connection between Seymour Glass and Holden Caulfield based on Seymour's anecdote about the bananafish. If we can determine anything that Seymour and Holden have in common, it's a gravitation toward, and an absorbtion of beauty. ) We've witnessed the effect that taking in an overabundance of beauty has had on both Holden and Seymour.. it produces a sort of emotional rupture. Likewise, when the bananafish intakes an overabundance of bananas, it suffers a similar fate. Therefore, it can be said that Holden and Seymour both have an incurable case of Bananafever, which Seymour quite posssibly dies from at the end of the story. I can see something similar happening to Holden in time, especially given the foreboding last line of Catcher in the Rye. Bridget Purcell (Bridgdawg@aol.com)
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Summary: Yuk, Yuk and Double Yuk
Review: I absolutely detested all of the stories in this volume! All of them were dreary and gloomy for no particular reason, and after I finished each one, I was still at a loss at to what Salinger was trying to tell me. He gives no reason for his extreme pessimism but simply paints everyone and everything in a very negative light. Salinger is a powerful writer, but compared to the Catcher In The Rye, this book is just garbage.
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Summary: Excellent Excellent and most Excellent
Review: Upon dropping in to review all books that were/are important to me, I noticed that "Nine Stories" only has 4 and 1/2 stars. Hmmmmmmmm. totally illogical. This collection is genius and flawed perfection. Of course my favorite story is "Perfect Day for Bananafish" because of the total bullets of details...and I adore "Uncle Wiggley in Connecticut"(I read Uncle Wiggley books as a child)... and I always quote "how that name mixes memory and desire" from "To Esme With Love and Squalor". I shouldn't even be tooo effusive or even care if people read this book. It is a rare and beautiful work, and I wouldn't want to see it on Oprah's must reads. If you, gentle reader, are at all interested in life and loss of intangibles, you you may read.
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Summary: Amazing Work, all stories are uniquely brilliant
Review: As everyone else has said, this is just the most brilliant thing ever written. The stories stay with you for so long, especially "Bananafish" and "Teddy." I adore Salinger, but not for "Catcher in the Rye." I much prefer "F&Z" as well as this. Everyone mentions Teddy and Banafish and even some others, but nobody ever seems to mention "Just Before the War with the Eskimos." This story has the most brilliant dialogue I've ever read and his descriptions of not only what is said, but the way it is said and the expression used during the conversation is genius. Read it again, thinking that Franklin is christ. That's when the story really comes alive. Just my thoughts milo the mayor
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Summary: EVERYTHING, that's what love's got 2 do w/it
Review: With one hand on the keyboard, my other (free) hand moves horizontally back and forth through the air - that's the sound of one hand clapping for this, arguably Jerome David Salinger's best book. "The Laughing Man" is stunning - someone says all of JD's folks are either good or bad phonies, but there is neither in this - an amazing pairing of an Indiana Jones type serial interwoven into a moving love story w/completely different characters. JD gives us TWO complete stories in what 20 pages (or less)? TWO stories in 20 pages that are both astoundingly good, so good any other author would need 200 pages to do half as good a job. The love part on 'the Chief'/Comanche coach is fantastic, and anybody, female or male, who's ever been truly heartbroken, will be moved more than words can say; and our funny-rictused 'Indy' hero exists in riveting action. As different as those 2 parts are, JD intertwines them seamlessly. The only fiction I've ever read equal to "The Laughing Man" is Irving's A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY. "...Banana Fish" is a coaster rolling from riotously funny to 'the blues'. You'll look at corners differently after the touching "...Esme..." In "...Dinghy", JD actually writes a nice, loving parent who takes time to understand her child, which may be his only published instance of doing that. "Teddy" is another touching example of how JD weaves the melancholy with the humorous so expertly. And as a few reviewers are obviously confused, in "Pretty Mouth" the husband is anguished because he suspects his wife is out RIGHT THEN cheating on him, so he calls his best friend. His wife really is cheating on him - with his 'best friend' on the other end of the phone RIGHT THEN, which is why the 'best friend' is trying so hard to keep the husband from popping over, and also to allay his suspicions. But read closely - the cheating friend is unknowingly giving himself away if the husband would just pay attention. JD hasn't let you down on this one. Or any others, either. All 9 of these are brilliant, shining gems. Many readers will differ on which of the 9 is the best - mine's obviously "The Laughing Man", hence my mangling Tina's song title. If you like well written, superbly crafted shorts filled with very human characters, these 9 stories of diverse settings and plots will keep you reading this book over and over again for years to come. Not many books, short stories or novels, will do that.
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Summary: Bringing down opposites into form.
Review: At first "A perfect day for bananafish" can mislead. But as the stories unthread, a blurred conceptual mood begins to focus in and the whole impressionist image appears, giving the whole work a unity of meaning.
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Summary: Fan for life
Review: What can I say about this book...pure genius! I have never been so obsessed with one book in my life. I first read it 16 years ago and have read it at least 2-3 times a year ever since.
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Summary: "i never saw such a bunch of apple eaters"
Review: the last story in this collection, "teddy", is simply genius- no other way to describe it. and as a whole the work doesnt come up short either. salinger is a brilliant man, a brilliant artist, and has a brilliant eye for humanity- all of which are proven through this collection of some of his short stories (as well as anything else he has written). did i mention brilliant? i think it is clear how i feel about this book. please read it- you will not regret it.
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Summary: It's worth buying the book just for the last story
Review: Salinger's "Nine Stories" is a phenominal collection of some of his best work. If you thought "Catcher in the Rye" was good, you'll love the last story, "Teddy". In a matter of about only 30 pages per story, Salinger explores ideas about religion, family, childhood, and human relationships. Each story leaves you with something to think about all day, and some great new ways to look at the world.
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