A brilliant piece of fiction.

For some reason, I’d never gotten around to reading any non-Catcher Salinger until recently, but then I read Nine Stories a couple of months ago, and a friend mentioned some parallels between this and The Royal Tenenbaums, so I thought I’d just continue the Salinger kick and see what it’s all about. So far it’s similar thematically and emotionally to Salinger’s other stuff, but perhaps a bit more subtle and gentle.

Upon finishing… it’s just alright. A few really great bits, but it doesn’t really hold together or go anywhere. Reminded me of Fathers and Sons in that way. Maybe I’m just not that fond of straight-up character sketches.

Sublime.

This is very unlike Salinger’s most well-known work (The Catcher in the Rye), but it is most beautiful. My only exposure to Salinger for many years had been Catcher, so I was pleasantly surprised by this story.

04/01/2001