1967 Bantam paperback of the 1961 novel by the late enigmatical author who died just this past January. By the inscription inside, this copy originally came from New York. I found this some months ago in the free books pile on the porch of Dimond Library.

I can let this go after I read:
1950 For Esmé-With Love and Squalor (short story) [read 2011]
1951 The Catcher in the Rye [read 2005]
1953 Nine Stories [read 2011]

Edit November 19, 2011: This was a short book focused on a moment in the lives of two siblings of one of the characters from Nine Stories. Quite quirky, but lots of monologue rather than action.

... sending off in a box-o-books as a donation to the 1,001 Library, as a rarity, per request from the rarities manager.

Aside from loving shared books, my main passion in life is supporting the human rights work of my good friend, Anni Cyrus. 💖 💖 Her life story of survival as a childhood refugee is astounding, and quite moving!

Please look her up on Google and YouTube. You can also follow her on Facebook and Instagram, among other platforms.

The notoriety of The Catcher in the Rye has had the effect of deflecting attention both from J. D. Salinger’s other writings and from what remains the essential quality of his writing in general: it is all about the details, rather than the broad strokes of disaffection and alienation. Franny and Zooey is almost entirely composed of details. A lopsided pair of stores about two children of the Glass family, the “novel” almost has the air of a minor work or sketch because of its deformed structure and apparently unfocused storytelling. Yet it deals throughout with ideas that are to be found at the edges of Salinger’s other books, in particular the egotism and “phoniness” of people who, particularly as a result of intellectualism or religion, believe they can provide absolutes and remove the need to keep addressing daily the events of their lives.

Salinger’s interest in Eastern religion — especially the rejection of absolutes and the refusal to provide anything as guaranteed — is at its clearest at the center of Franny and Zooey. The Glass family’s youngest children are tormented by an idea that they move toward grasping as the novel progresses, the idea that learning, religion, and even happiness have been reduced to commodities. As such, each and every choice, irrespective of what it concerns, has the potential to be negative or positive. In the modern world, where all that many people desire is a lifestyle that removes the need to think constantly about their lives, the parallels with Salinger’s apparently minor work are all too clear. — Seb Franklin in 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

Thanks so much for your donation Vasha!

This book is now part of the 1001-library. If you want to take this book from the library but don't know how to proceed, please refer to the 1001-library bookshelf.