J. D. Salinger

Nine Stories

Kat Albanese

I made, in French, the following brief entry in my diary: "I am giving Sister Irma her freedom to follow her own destiny. Everybody is a nun." (Tout le monde est une nonne.)

The worst that being an artist could do to you would be that it would make you slightly unhappy constantly.

lots of post-WWII existentialism + irony, complaining from rich white people, and depressing stares into the distance. first short story was the best imo.

markelle e. e.

Sarah Sammis

It's only in the last couple of years that I've started reading J. D. Salinger but he has quickly earned a spot among my favorite authors. I enjoy his realistic and oft-times mundane characters.

Nine Stories is just that, nine short stories. Nothing earth shattering happens in any of them and yet they are all very enjoyable. They are character studies and brief glimpses into the late 1940s and early 1950s.

The nine stories are:

 * "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"

It takes a while for each story to explain its title and part of the fun is the sousing out of their meanings. The Laughing Man makes a reappearance from the quote by narrator Holden in Catcher in Rye. Here though the Laughing Man is a mythic figure, disfigured by strange circumstances and the source of inspiration for a bus full of boys.

If I had to pick a favorite, I'd have to go with "Down at the Dinghy." The young girl admiral reminds me so much of myself at that age except I think she has more spunk than I did.

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

iamazoo

can't pick a favorite story because they're all marvelous, but..."for esme with love and squalor" / "teddy" / "the laughing man" were especially standouts.

isabel ⋆｡°✩

There wasn’t a single one of these stories where you weren’t thrown into the thick of it and forced to piece it together for yourself. But with that came another added layer that made all of these even more fun to read. Exploring so many different topics from isolation, connection, trust, love, and the side effects that come with being in constant war with each other, this book is not both one of my favorite reads of the year and one I will be recommending for many to come. 

Kaitlyn R

loved all the stories except for one, “the laughing man”, though there was nothing particularly wrong with it. 

most stories and dialogues are written with the cigarette-in-hand, blasé, peculiar and thoughtful, stylish tone of margot tenenbaum (as well as richie), so i naturally enjoy ambling about them.

some endings are uneventful and open-ended and that’s fine with me too.

loved all the stories except for one, “the laughing man”, though there was nothing particularly wrong with it. 

most stories and dialogues are written with the cigarette-in-hand, blasé, peculiar and thoughtful, stylish tone of margot tenenbaum (as well as richie), so i naturally enjoy ambling about them.

some of the endings are 👌👌

some endings are uneventful and open-ended and that’s fine with me too.

Hans Gerwitz

Sometimes disturbing, but not really provocative. Often without clear ending, but only in a weak trailing-off, not with a purposefully lingering sense of anticipation.

Ashlyn

"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" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Brigid prior 

It's a 4.5 really. Not a 5 because it isn't plot driven-- it's more about how the words fit together and look on the page. Which is wonderful but not all of the time.

Sabine Delorme

Für viele Leute ist Salinger’s “Catcher in the Rye” der absolute Höhepunkt seines Werkes, für mich war es bislang „Franny und Zooey“ und auch die wundervollen oft wehmütigen „9 Stories“ sind einfach grandios. Nicht falsch verstehen der „Catcher in the Rye“ ist klasse, aber für mich sind diese Kurzgeschichten einfach so etwas wie Gebrauchsanleitungen zum Schreiben perfekter Kurzgeschichten und Dialoge.

Die ganze Rezension findet ihr hier: http://bingereader.org/2015/03/27/9-s...

Burcu Şakır

Salinger forever. 
All time Favorite story: A Perfect Day for Bananafish

Femke

My faves were definitely the Bananafish and Teddy. 

J.D. Salinger definitely has a peculiar way of writing.

Mircea Tara

What Salinger lacks in plot, gains in character development and dialogue.

Simon Elliott Stegall

Geez louise, how is Salinger so good? 'For Esme, With Love and Squalor' is definitely in my top five favorite short stories now. The other 8 are great too. Not a weak story in the book.

Christina Hufford

I loved it. This is my first experience reading Salinger, and I came away from these stories with a deep respect for him as a writer. You can almost feel Hemingway's iceberg theory at work; Salinger gives you events and character and actions, and afterwards you're relied on to fill in the rest of the story. This is incredibly effective, engaging writing that almost turns a simple fifteen page story into a veritable mystery, as you're required to form your own opinions and analysis. 

I think "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" and "Teddy" were among my favorite of the stories, as well as "For Esmè--With Love and Squalor", but honestly there wasn't a single story that felt dragged or uninteresting. But Bananafish, man, I don't want to include spoilers, but that ending was a GREAT way to plunge someone into a book. My mouth has hanging open!

Alice Gomes Silva

De Daumier-Smith’s Blue Period é um dos melhores contos que eu já li, e nada vai me convencer do contrário (são todos bons, mas esse me marcou (isso não valia uma avaliação, mas eu quis pelos tempos de quarentena)).

Nine Stories

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