Zooey | Walttriznastories's Blog

Posts tagged ‘Zooey’

FRANNY AND ZOOEY BY J. D. SALINGER

I’ve mentioned in a past post that, after reading an author’s work, I seek out their biography. With J. D. Salinger, I did the exact opposite.

I first read Salinger’s biography by David Shields and Shane Salerno. I couldn’t remember if I had read Salinger’s classic, The Catcher in the Rye, so I read it and recently posted my thoughts, and now have read Franny and Zooey. This book is composed of two works concerning members of the Glass family. Here are my thoughts.

Franny and Zooey are the youngest of the seven siblings, two girls and five boys, of the Glass family. Their parents are vaudeville actors and the children are all described as being extremely intelligent and attractive. The radio show, It’s a Wise Child, features the siblings for an extended period for there is a great age difference between the first and the last.

In the first piece, Franny, we find a girl of twenty, with a rather unstable nature, meeting her boyfriend for a weekend game. They go for lunch where martinis are consumed and endless cigarettes smoked. The language is stilted, by today’s standards. The Zooey piece concerns her brother and her condition in the previous piece. Zooey, along with his mother, also smoke constantly. Zooey also exhibits an attitude and sophistication not keeping with his age of perhaps 25.

The purpose of this post is, in my opinion, today’s reader would not find these works entertaining, or meaningful.

After publishing his work, Salinger wrote, as a recluse for 45 years, producing a reported volume of work to be published in the future, dealing with the Glass family as well as the Caulfield family from The Catcher in the Rye.

I’m looking forward to reading these works to see, while in seclusion, Salinger kept up with the times. Generations of both families would have past. Did they trade martinis for marihuana? Did the stiltedness of their encounters become steamy sex? Did his writing change to reflect the time?

Here are some links where you may purchase my work.

Melange Books

http://www.melange-books.com/authors/walttrizna/index.html