My rating:

add to my books

Franny and Zooey

by J.D. Salinger

3.97 · rating details · 56,802 ratings · 2,592 reviews

The short story, "Franny", takes place in an unnamed college town and tells the tale of an undergraduate who is becoming disenchanted with the selfishness and inauthenticity she perceives all around her.

The novella, Zooey, is named for Zooey Glass, the second-youngest member of the Glass family. As his younger sister, Franny, suffers a spiritual and e...more

Paperback, 202 pages

Published May 1st 1991 by Little, Brown and Company (first published 1961)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

There is a good chance some of your friends read this book. Sign in to see!

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Great Books: No Novels Need Apply

66th out of 175 books — 37 voters

Books From High School That I Want To Re-Read

8th out of 16 books — 6 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 76,281)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Nov 05, 2010

Ben rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2010, memorable-characters, good-fiction, favorites

This is great; it really is. In many ways it’s the anti Cornwell-Patterson-Grisham-King-Coben-Brown. Franny and Zooey isn’t fast paced or plot driven; it isn’t thrilling (in the traditional sense), and its concepts aren’t surfaced-based or easy to come by (or even embraced by the mainstream populace), but Salinger didn’t write for these people; he wrote for himself and if you identified with what he wrote, good for you -- if not, so be it. Even so, it’s not flourishy or fancy; there’s nothing...moreThis is great; it really is. In many ways it’s the anti Cornwell-Patterson-Grisham-King-Coben-Brown. Franny and Zooey isn’t fast paced or plot driven; it isn’t thrilling (in the traditional sense), and its concepts aren’t surfaced-based or easy to come by (or even embraced by the mainstream populace), but Salinger didn’t write for these people; he wrote for himself and if you identified with what he wrote, good for you -- if not, so be it. Even so, it’s not flourishy or fancy; there’s nothing pretentious about it. There is a general disdain for snobbery running through its veins.

“You raved and you bitched when you came home about the stupidity of audiences. The goddam 'unskilled laughter' coming from the fifth row. And that's right, that's right -- God knows it's depressing. I'm not saying it isn't. But that's none of your business, really. That's none of your business, Franny. An artist's only concern is to shoot for some kind of perfection, and on his own terms, not anyone else's.”

Franny and Zooey would be have been prescient if it were written today. Salinger’s kooky, wacky sense of humor; his accuracy with individualized thought; his passion for non-conformity and for the individual, are all unmatched, even today. In retrospect of all we know and can (now) see of his time period, Salinger's poking and mocking of (then current) society, make Franny and Zooey seem like it was written (brilliantly) today.

Maybe it's because this book has to do with an older brother and younger sister (I’m an older brother), or maybe it's because I know how much some of my friends love this novel, but I felt rushes of something like nostalgia during my reading; some kind of sentimentality or appreciation for my friends that love this. (If you think you can’t get sentimental over a Salinger novel, you’re obviously not part of the group that loves him -- you can’t be). And while I don’t love Salinger the way some of my friends do*, I sure as fuck appreciate him, and I sure as fuck had an absolute blast reading Franny and Zooey-- my new favorite Salinger novel.

*Whether he’s one of your favorite authors or not, if you’re of the breed that can indentify with Salinger's thinking -- and can maybe even see some similarities between you and some of his characters -- you feel a love for this man.
(less)

like 48 likes

· see review

May 30, 2007

Lee rated it

· review of another edition

I am a huge JD Salinger fan, and I'm one of those people who's read "Catcher in the Rye" like 200 times, several times a year since I was about twelve. I buy into every cliche said about it: it changed my life, it made me want to write, it validated my own teen angst, Salinger captures teen-speak amazingly well, Holden Caulfield is vulnerable and wise, a kid-hero, etc. I have such an emotional attachment to the book that I find it hard to tolerate much criticism of it. Case in point: I...moreI am a huge JD Salinger fan, and I'm one of those people who's read "Catcher in the Rye" like 200 times, several times a year since I was about twelve. I buy into every cliche said about it: it changed my life, it made me want to write, it validated my own teen angst, Salinger captures teen-speak amazingly well, Holden Caulfield is vulnerable and wise, a kid-hero, etc. I have such an emotional attachment to the book that I find it hard to tolerate much criticism of it. Case in point: I recently came across an article written by Jonathan Yardley in 2004 for the Washington Post entitled "J.D. Salinger's Holden Caulfield, Aging Gracelessly". One of the best quotes from the piece:

"Rereading 'The Catcher in the Rye' after all those years was almost literally a painful experience: The combination of Salinger's execrable prose and Caulfield's jejune narcissism produced effects comparable to mainlining castor oil."

Ouch. Double ouch because I had to look up "jejune".

This article prompted me to delve deeper into the Salinger canon, and I resurfaced holding "Franny & Zooey". Yardley may have prompted me to question my devotion, but this book cemented what I already knew: JD Salinger is a wonderful writer and his characters are the written equivalent of crack. You just can't get enough.

"Franny & Zooey" is one of several books/short stories written about the Glass family. There are seven Glass kids, all of whom were, at various points, panelists on a radio quiz show with the best name ever: "It's A Wise Child".

"Franny & Zooey" focuses on the two youngest siblings, hence the title, who are both in the midst of emotional and existential breakdowns. Franny, away at college in Boston, has read a book called "The Way of the Pilgrim, which has instilled in her an obsession with the concept of "praying without ceasing". Suddenly, everything around her is meaningless, she can't study or eat or sleep, and returns to New York to recouperate. Zooey is a sometimes-working actor, determined to help his sister.

The book touches on familiar Salinger-esque themes, including relgious devotion/fanaticism, kids vs. adults, a potentially meaningless world, etc. This book explores religion in an engaging, relatable way. Franny's qustions are universal and Zooey's answers are valid.

Authorities on the Glass Family will appreciate the insight into the unit, particularly into eldest brothers Seymour (who at that point has already committed suicide) and Buddy, who narrates the story. Zooey blames them for using himself and Franny as philosphical guinea pigs, pumping them full from the time they were toddlers with vast and varied dogma simply to see what would stick.

All of that said, I think the most important thing about this book, and all of Salinger's books, is its pure, joyful readability. "Franney & Zooey" contains passages that are absolutely HILARIOUS, specifically the extensive conversation between Zooey and his nagging mother, Bessie, that takes place in the bathroom. I was laughing out loud throughout.

He's been called the voice of several generations, but Salinger's ability to maintain belly-laugh-worthy humor while touching on such dark themes might be the most notable (and most underappreciated) thing about him.(less)

like 43 likes

· see review

Sep 16, 2007

Jason rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: no one

If you liked Catcher in the Rye more than your average novel, then you probably have considered reading Franny and Zooey. It's one of very few books that J.D. Salinger wrote because he kind of turned into a weird old recluse. I was really excited about reading this. I expected big things. Needless to say, I was very disappointed.
Problem number one: Zooey, who is essentially the "protagonist" (or one of two main characters) is pretty much identical to the main character from Catch...more

like 37 likes

· see review

Aug 06, 2009

mp rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed

Yesterday was the day of Rakshabandhan, an Indian festival celebrating the relationship between brothers and sisters, and I spent this day a few thousand miles away from my siblings. Last night I spent 2 hours at the dinner table talking to my roommate about those years when I used to celebrate Rakshabandhan at home with my sister and brother, about the years when we were growing up together. After yesterday's somewhat long dinner, I picked up Franny and Zooey from the page where I had left it t...more

like 21 likes

· see review

Jan 31, 2010

Ellen rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: novels, young-adult

Edited to include visual: "Disaffected Young Adult," which is a picture of MFSO, used with his permission, with the following explanation (in his words): "I refer to it [the picture:] as 'Too Much Fun' and that it's from the end of my first year in college in the summer of 2004 while in the midst of three days with no sleep or food and a lot of chemicals."

* * *

As a former Salinger aficionado, I wanted to look back and consider how I felt about ...more

like 24 likes

· see review

Feb 18, 2008

Stephanie rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: you

Recommended to Stephanie by: Ryan Vande Kraats

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This is one of my favorite books of all time. Think, The Royal Tenenbaums as a novel. Essentially, the book is three long conversations in the Glass family: seven precocious children who, at one time, held a 30-some year dynasty on a television program for child geniuses, “It’s a Wise Child”.

Like Catcher in the Rye, it’s an argument against asceticism, a push for being active in a broken, phoney world; however, a more foundational, philosophical, spiritual approach. Whereas Catch...moreThis is one of my favorite books of all time. Think, The Royal Tenenbaums as a novel. Essentially, the book is three long conversations in the Glass family: seven precocious children who, at one time, held a 30-some year dynasty on a television program for child geniuses, “It’s a Wise Child”.

Like Catcher in the Rye, it’s an argument against asceticism, a push for being active in a broken, phoney world; however, a more foundational, philosophical, spiritual approach. Whereas Catcher puts forth the questions, Franny and Zooey answers them, but not without true wrestling, not till the very end.

Summary
First conversation is Franny with her boyfriend, Lane. Lane is pretentious and college-boy scholarly. Franny is sick of ego and knowledge for knowledge’s sake. She’s even giving up college theater. Lane accuses her of just not wanting to compete. Franny wants wisdom, something that surpasses the acquisitiveness of the world, whether that be materialism or scholarship. Franny says, “I’m sick of not having the courage to be an absolute nobody.” She is reading a book about a mystical pilgrim who recites the “Jesus Prayer.” As a way to pray incessantly, it’s supposed to become a part of you, live in sync with your heartbeat, develop your third eye so you can see God. The book, incidentally, belonged to her oldest brother, Seymour, the clearest headed Glass child, who has died.

Next conversation is her brother Zooey (Zachary) and their mother Bessie, who Franny and Zooey call by first name. He’s a young actor, reading a script, which he hates, while in the bathtub. Bessie insists on talking to him in the bathroom. Very funny conversation. She is upset about Franny’s breakdown, upset because she can’t reach their older brother, Buddy, because he has no phone (though he maintains a line in his and Seymour’s old bedroom, a sentimental leftover). She pleads with Zooey to talk to Franny who won’t leave the couch, reciting her Jesus Prayer. He keeps asking her to leave. He overstates and indulges everything he has to say with wit—calling the bathroom his chapel, where people are invited to come and chat.

Last conversation is between Franny and Zooey. Franny says he’s tactless, he insists he’s just “brisk”. He takes shots at her new asceticism, calling it just another kind of acquisition, a spiritual kind. He points to her inconsistencies. Though Franny dislikes her professor, who works to serve his own ego, says Zooey, she upholds Emily Dickinson. Point being, there is still good work to be done, ego or no. He charges Zooey with using the prayer as a “substitute for doing whatever the hell your duty is in life”. He says she ought to at least say the prayer to Jesus. Because if you don’t see Jesus, you miss the whole point of the prayer. Jesus was, says Zooey, the best man in the Bible because “he knew that we’re carrying the Kingdom of Heaven around with us, inside, where we’re all too goddam stupid and sentimental and unimaginative to look.”

At this, Franny goes into a tailspin, face down. Zooey regrets his edge and leaves, eventually going into Seymour and Buddy’s old room and calling Franny on the extra phone line, as Buddy. They talk for awhile before Zooey’s wit gives him away, still, they continue. Zooey apologizes, but maintains that, with this prayer, Franny is “missing out on every single goddam religious action that’s going on” around the house, like the consecrated chicken broth Bessie keeps pushing. He remembers a play she was in—how she shined, but hated the “unskilled laughter” from the audience and probably hated the ushers because they weren’t geniuses. “God knows it’s depressing” he says, but it’s none of her business; rather, “an artist’s only concern is to shoot for some kind of perfection, on his own terms, not anyone else’s” and “the only thing that matters in the religious life is detachment—desirelessness.” Probably recalling a quote on Buddy and Seymour’s wall:
“You have the right to work, but for the work’s sake only. You have no right to the fruits of work, Desire for the fruits of work must never be your motive in working” (177). —Bhagavad Gita

They both recall how Seymour would tell them to shine their shoes before going out on “The Wise Child”, even though the audience members were morons, to do it for “the Fat Lady”. This is the great secret, says Zooey, there isn’t anyone out there who isn’t the Fat Lady. And, the Fat Lady is Christ himself.

(less)

like 9 likes

· see review

Nov 13, 2007

Lindsay rated it

· review of another edition

One day last year I was hunting around the web for some factual anecdotes about J.D. Salinger drinking his own urine and stuff like that when I came across this semi-legit Salinger biography site. Just a straight up old fashioned Angelfire page, big boring blocks of Times New Roman and a randomly placed graphic here and there. But it had a lot of great information about all of Salinger's fetishes and neuroses, and I was really digging it all until I got to this little parenthetical aside where t...more

like 17 likes

· see review

Sep 08, 2007

Heron rated it

· review of another edition

I am of a certain group of people for whom high school ruined large swatches of literature. Dickens. I hate Dickens. I hated A Separate Peace. And I hated Catcher in the Rye. Why must 10th graders dissect literature to the point of obscenity? Can't we let a book be a book? Must we catalog every leitmotif, every metaphor down to the last period?
Franny and Zooey appeared on my bookshelf thanks to my well-read boyfriend, who did not let the public school system get to him in the w...more

like 12 likes

· see review

Jul 12, 2010

Jasmine rated it

Shelves: american

Okay I am finally going to admit that I am never going to finish this book. That's right I can't bring myself to finish reading a classic book that is only 100 pages long. But I just can't stand to have Salinger break my heart again. I am now going to make everyone hate me but reading him is like reading Stephen King for me. I start the book and I am so happy and I think it's great and then he disappoints me so throughly that I want to throw him out a window.

Okay lets start from the...more

like 7 likes

· see review

Jun 19, 2008

Alan rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Alooey would recommend this to Froanny!

While reading this, I realized i'd not finished it in high school. So damn brutally lovely. Despite that the characters collapse into each other. (Though his perfect details keep this at bay, unlike with, say, Ayn Rand.) Lovely, despite that what plot there is becomes a pulpit. Pulpit for the bitter, tender truth. So perfectly flawed. Like dostoyevsky, like Lady Chatterly's Lover. The flaws allow the voice to be so very direct, and so facilitate a more direct consumption of the the writing, a gr...more

like 5 likes

· see review

Aug 04, 2007

Eric rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: only those who really take an interest in Salinger's work.

Shelves: modern

Franny and Zooey is a book which chronicals the relationships between several members of the glass family as they attempt to cope with Franny's, seemingly willful emotional breakdown. The story features the theme of acting strongly, as both Franny and Zooey are actors in some right, and so a certain amount of dramatic irony is woven into the story through the presentation of the text. The entire narrative, while in short story form, almost reads like a play. The scenes that are set are extremely...moreFranny and Zooey is a book which chronicals the relationships between several members of the glass family as they attempt to cope with Franny's, seemingly willful emotional breakdown. The story features the theme of acting strongly, as both Franny and Zooey are actors in some right, and so a certain amount of dramatic irony is woven into the story through the presentation of the text. The entire narrative, while in short story form, almost reads like a play. The scenes that are set are extremely contained and feature only a few characters who talk quite a lot a do very little. Their actions read almost like stage directions, sometimes having little or no purpose other than to shed light on the character's mood. This framing sets a tone for the story that is interesting, but not nearly as entertaining as some of Salinger's other works, for instance The Cather in the Rye.

The result of this is that Franny and Zooey is not the kind of book that you recommend. This isn't to say that I did not enjoy it, simply that if someone else is going to enjoy it is likely because they have read Salinger's other works and liked them enough to actively seek out more. And if that is who you are then you may appreciate the recurring themes in this story and the light that they shed on some of his other story's about members of the Glass Family. Here we see Saliger returning to themes like the lost innocence of childhood, Zen mysticism, and a specter of unintended pregnancy that haunts a few of his other works. I particularly enjoyed how the book helped me to understand some of the short works in "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger. In particular, A Perfect Day for Bananafish and Uncle Wiggly in Connecticut make more sense upon a deeper understanding of the Glass Family history.

Ultimately though, if you don't really like J. D. Salinger, and you don't want to browse through a hundred and fifty pages of Glass Family politics and a long religious diatribe by Zooey Glass, than this may not be the book for you. If you read The Catcher in The Rye and you want more, go read Nine Stories. Then if you still want more pick up Franny and Zooey and spend a few hours basking in Salinger's witty prose and stream of consciousness dialog. You just might even enjoy it. I know I did.(less)

like 3 likes

· see review

Jul 30, 2008

Seth Hahne rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: bookclub

I am the luckiest person in the world. The last few months have led me through an unbroken string of good books. I have had so much fun reading that I'm just in love with books right now.

And isn't that the way it should be?

In any case, Salinger's Franny and Zooey is the most recent in what I hope will be a continuing tradition of engaging, well-written stories. I have to admit I approached the work with some skepticism, having been wholly uninterested in Catcher in the Rye ...more

like 13 likes

· see review

Apr 20, 2008

Lucy rated it

· review of another edition

More of a play than a novel, Salinger creates two dissatisfied intellectuals and their fall out with convention resulting from their unorthodox education and childhood.

The book is divided into two parts: Franny's shorter section and a much longer section devoted to her older brother, Zooey.

Franny Glass, the youngest child of the fictional upper class New York family, breaks down after spending the weekend with her pretentious boyfriend, Lane. Lane seems to be the fa...more

like 3 likes

· see review

Jun 28, 2007

viola rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2007, own

this might be repetitive. i already wrote this and lost it.
-----

three things:

one - the thoughts in this book make it exciting to read. i agree with most everything zooey has to say, and i appreciate having a chance to see a few things from a new perspective. the beginning was far more exciting before we spent another two hundred pages discussing the same ideas to death. all in the name of making us understand f+z a little better? maybe.

two - i read ficti...more

like 5 likes

· see review

Feb 19, 2009

Leslie rated it

· review of another edition

The ending to this story is absolutely beautiful, and the main reason to read this book (by ending, I mean the last 3 pages). I was recommended to read this by my partner (because he loved the ending too) and am glad I did. I've never really been a fan for Salinger's style of writing (in fact I kind of despised it), but I didn't mind this one as much as others I've read. It doesn't matter that the majority of the book is just a few conversations between family members or that nothing really happ...more

like 2 likes

· see review

Feb 05, 2009

Kristin rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: classic, ya

For a while I claimed to like Franny and Zooey better than Catcher in the Rye. I might still. It's hard to say. This is a great dialogue between a brother and sister about what purpose and happiness mean. There are different theories about why Franny has a nervous breakdown... maybe she's pregnant. I think John Updike thought the Franny of the first part is a different person than the one in the second part. I'm pretty sure that's entirely wrong. Anyway.... I think Franny just gets tired of the ...more

like 2 likes

· see review

Jun 15, 2011

Vicki G rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: classic

I liked Holden Caulfied better than Zooey, but I'm not sure why. I think it has to do with the fact that Zooey calls his mother Bessie, and I have no understanding of why he would do that. But then, so does Frannie.
If anyone knows why that is, feel free to let me in on a possible reason. I can't think of any that make any sense. I mean he doesn't do it just to get under her skin, which was my first thought; that becomes apparent in the bathroom scene when he calls her Bessie even when he's ...moreI liked Holden Caulfied better than Zooey, but I'm not sure why. I think it has to do with the fact that Zooey calls his mother Bessie, and I have no understanding of why he would do that. But then, so does Frannie.
If anyone knows why that is, feel free to let me in on a possible reason. I can't think of any that make any sense. I mean he doesn't do it just to get under her skin, which was my first thought; that becomes apparent in the bathroom scene when he calls her Bessie even when he's not that upset with her. And even more obvious when you learn that Frannie, who's quite charming compared to Zooey, also calls her Bessie.
For the record, I don't hate Zooey either. Which surprises me b/c I'm the type of person who has a hard time seeing shades of gray in situations and especially people.
He's hilarious when he tells Bessie that he has the least number of problems in the family, b/c when he DOES have an issue, what he does is just invite people into the bathroom to talk to him while he's in the tub.
That was hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing through that bathroom scene.

Okay. This book is sort of confusing. For one thing, he uses all sorts of words I've never heard of. I'm not a college graduate. I have a 2-year degree in an area of study. One of the professors at my chosen school made a pointed reference to it, determined to let me know that my education doesn't qualify at the same level as a BA or BS, MS or Ph.D. I used to live with someone who had a Ph.D and he said there was an old saying for those letters BS, MS and Ph.D, which meant piled higher and deeper. The BS and MS are relatively self-explanatory if you begin with the BS.
However, I feel greatly inadequate in the face of words like jivanmuktas, bodhisattvas and arhats. I felt LESS inadequate after looking them up, b/c they refer to Hindu philosophy. Not everyone is educated in that area, but I also had to look up matriculating, which I'd never heard of even when I was matriculating myself.
I still like his style of writing though. He's got to be the only writer I've read; besides Kelly Braffet, Cherie Priest and Joe Hill; who doesn't think he's all that and a hundred dollar bill.
I wish more writers would write like Kelly, Cherie and Joe do, b/c I really enjoy reading a story for the story. (less)

like 2 likes

· see review

Aug 27, 2010

James rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, lincoln-park-group

Rereading J. D. Salinger I am impressed with the books that his characters are reading. In the beginning section of Franny and Zooey, Lane Coutell is engaged by his classmate, Ray Sorensen in a brief interchange regarding Rilke's "Duino Elegies" which they both are supposedly reading for a class on modern European literature. While this is brief, merely an aside, reading and literature intrudes again within a few pages. Franny has arrived on a train and she and Lane settle in to relax ...more

like 1 like

· see review

Mar 08, 2008

Kat rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: recently-re-read

sometimes I just need a little dose of the Glass family to put life in perspective, so I'm re-reading this

like 3 likes

· see review

Sep 15, 2011

Jodi rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2010-read, rock-roll-bookclub

Since I have encouraged everyone I know to go back and re-read the books they were younger, my Rock & Roll Bookclub chose J.D. Salinger’s Franny and Zooey for our May read. It is one of my sister Ericka’s favorite books. I’m not entirely sure why, especially when you consider she’s a pretty devout Atheist. I’ve developed a theory, or rather am developing it as these letters fall from my keyboard that Ericka’s affection for this book is due, in large part, to her affection for Salinger’s writing ...more

like 1 like

· see review

Jan 21, 2009

Mike Bularz rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, love-it, at-borders

Originally, the stories "Franny" and "Zooey" were published separately in a magazine, but they were meant to be read together. The first, shorter story "Franny" is about a girl from a family of smart children who is disillusioned with all of the (Salinger's favorite term apparently) phonies in higher education - the fake "seers", or knowledgable students who just like to hear themselves talk about anything smart that doesn't really have any deep meaning to...more

like 2 likes

· see review

Dec 22, 2009

Lavinia rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2004-and-older, 2008, fiction, 2009

Definitely my favourite piece of Salinger’s fiction, despite it lacking a plot, as I have read some complain about. Or, should I say, because of it?
For some unknown reason I tend to read the book in winter – I’ve always thought the so-called action of the book takes place in January, but no, it’s November. However, to me it feels like a winter book (sometimes I feel books have their own season) and should be read accordingly. For the same reason The Picture of Dorian Gray is an autumn book...moreDefinitely my favourite piece of Salinger’s fiction, despite it lacking a plot, as I have read some complain about. Or, should I say, because of it?
For some unknown reason I tend to read the book in winter – I’ve always thought the so-called action of the book takes place in January, but no, it’s November. However, to me it feels like a winter book (sometimes I feel books have their own season) and should be read accordingly. For the same reason The Picture of Dorian Gray is an autumn book, while On the road is definitely a summer book.
Well, anyway, I don’t re-read so very often, because most of the times I feel I’m cheating on the new books. But with some of them it’s different, and you get to see everything from a different angle each time. The first two times I focused on Zooey, but this time I got to see Franny more clear. (Don’t worry Zooey darling, you’re still my no 1 crush when it comes to literary characters.)
And since I don’t seem to be saying anything worth reading about the book itself, here’s a paragraph I liked a lot:

"I don't think it would have all got me quite so down if just once in a while - just once in a while - there was at least some polite little perfunctory implication that knowledge should lead to wisdom, and that if it doesn't, it's just a disgusting waste of time! But there never is! You never even hear any hints dropped on a campus that wisdom is supposed to be the goal of knowledge. You hardly ever even hear the word 'wisdom' mentioned! Do you want to hear something funny? Do you want to hear something really funny? In almost four years of college - and this is the absolute truth - in almost four years of college, the only time I can remember ever even hearing the expression 'wise man' being used was in my freshman year, in Political Science! And you know how it was used? It was used in reference to some nice old poopy elder statesman who'd made a fortune in the stock market and then gone to Washington to be an adviser to President Roosevelt. Honestly, now! Four years of college, almost! I'm not saying that happens to everybody, but I just get so upset when I think about it I could die."(less)

like 2 likes

· see review

Jul 04, 2010

A.J. rated it

Shelves: fiction

Sometimes an author's popularity is difficult to explain. Salinger is a fine example. To begin with, he published next to nothing, but it remains a question to say whether or not that helps or hurts readership in the long run. Once his Classic of classics is read, you have a mere handful of slim volumes ahead of you before you've completed the Salinger Experience.

My Salinger Experience began with––no shit––The Catcher in the Rye, which––no shit––I read in high school. Affecting, yes,...moreSometimes an author's popularity is difficult to explain. Salinger is a fine example. To begin with, he published next to nothing, but it remains a question to say whether or not that helps or hurts readership in the long run. Once his Classic of classics is read, you have a mere handful of slim volumes ahead of you before you've completed the Salinger Experience.

My Salinger Experience began with––no shit––The Catcher in the Rye, which––no shit––I read in high school. Affecting, yes, but it was more of an affirmation than a discovery of a better mouse trap. The world is full of crumby phonies (it really is). For some it's a thought you grow out of; for others, the more time passes the more you suspect that Holden underestimated the gravity of the situation. For me, the only potentially unique thing I can say about Catcher is that while reading it I experienced several deep spasms of rage somehow connected with John Lennon, for chrissake, that crumby phony.

Nine Stories was a mixed bag, a near-inevitability with short story collections. Salinger stories often do one of the neater tricks in literary fiction, though. They add layers of meaning. You'll be reading along and a character will say something, or think something, and this little inglorious comment will suddenly inject an entire new understanding of the story and everything that has brought us to this point. Done well enough and it leaves the reader feeling enlightened.

Done poorly, or with the wrong characters, and you get Franny and Zooey. The first section had me believing I was reading Salinger's real masterwork, but by the time "Zooey" had finished I was feeling the same ambivalence that I have towards someone like Christopher McCandless. Existential depression is hard sell for me, and you're talking to a guy who once owned a Nirvana T-shirt. When the protagonist has a dilemma that can be solved by having a conversation with her brother––who spends fifty pages in the bathtub––the BS meter auto-activates. The cure to existential depression is to get a job, punk, and stop whining. Some kid in Africa just watched his entire family and tribe gunned down by some warlord who didn't like their taste in hut design. What's your excuse?

The other drawback is that I had about as much interest in this Jesus Prayer as I have in any autohypnotic quest, which is to say none. If you want to empty your mind and say the prayer to the Fat Lady (who is Jesus, by the way), be my guest. But don't get all profound on me and think I'm going to hit the four stars button for it. The Englightenment > You.
(less)

like 1 like

· see review

Sep 16, 2008

Amanda rated it

Recommended to Amanda by: Booby's second favorite from the mini am thread. the loser of t

Shelves: favorites-from-other-goodreaders, 2008, better-than-chick-lit

So far, so very very good!

9/14--I also wish Bessie would shut up a minute...

9/15--I'm getting really sick and tired of Zooey whining and complaining all the damn time. I think, perhaps, I'm not in the mood to listen to somebody waxing poetic about the pure drudgery of life and about how he just wishes everybody would just shut up. The fact of the matter is, they all talk to goddamn much. The whole goddamn family.

I think I didn't realize that this book would...more

like 1 like

· see review

Feb 26, 2008

Amelia rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: classics

I think I give it three stars anyway. I'm not completely sure I know how I feel about this book. It was a bit of slow going in the beginning. To be honest I didn't know what the hell the point to the whole thing was, I just wasn't getting it. Near the end it began to come together somewhat and became engaging at that point.

I remember reading Catcher in HS and liking it. I also remember Salinger's penchant for swearing. But, I find that I cannot get the word "goddamn"...more

like 1 like

· see review

Jun 23, 2008

James Moes rated it

· review of another edition

Recommended to James by: David Pasivirta and Amanda Talstra

Shelves: fiction

Amidst all the clever diction and high-culture-referencing - very apparent in his description of the Glass family's discerning-but-not-too-discerning Manhattan apartment aesthetic (possibly inspiring the Royal Tenenbaums?) - there is read a real longing for that which is good, replacing-but-not-removing the search for that which is reputable.

While the story resolved appealing to an absurdist faith - just live for the Fat Lady, it hints that there might be something more to true devo...more

like 2 likes

· see review

May 03, 2007

Matt rated it

· review of another edition

I loved this book. I read it for the first time in Russia, and then recently reread it last fall. There's something really romantic about the way they explore spirituality here....I have actually really wanted to discuss this book with someone for a long time, but I couldn't get my wife to read it. One thing that I was disappointed with, though....the journey through the book was worth a lot more than the endpoint, which I either didn't get or if I did thought it was a little anticlimactic and s...more

like 2 likes

· see review

Jan 04, 2008

Sheba rated it

· review of another edition

The Glass family.

I wished almost desperately to be a Glass when I was younger.

I read Salinger's stories about the Glass family in pieces. "Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenter", the short story in "Nine Stories" where you visit with Seymour the moment before he kills himself...I found these books without having been told they were important, and each time it felt like I had stumbled on a secret, like I was a part of something unfolding over the years. ...more

like 2 likes

· see review

Mar 26, 2007

Aly rated it

· review of another edition

It's a rough couple of days whenever I re-read this book: the book drags me over the pavement every time. I tend to turn to it when I'm already entering a state of either self-pity or self-loathing, and for the majority of the book it does nothing but heighten the mood. But I'm in love with the brilliant and bent characters that reside in this book, their existential struggles consume me for the time that I am within the pages. It's not so much a book that revels in the lowest points of humanity...more

like 3 likes

· see review

Mar 11, 2007

Susie rated it

Recommends it for: Yes

in perfect Salinger style, he has these moments of brillance that, really, can be missed if you don't read closely. Some of the descriptions he uses ("Where once, a few years earlier, her eyes alone culd break the news...that two of her sons were dead...now...she was apt to use this same terrible Celtic equipment to break the news...that the delivery boy hadn't brough the leg of lamb...") are indescripable and you can just see and feel what he typed. There are many, many other places I...more

like 1 like

· see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 2542 2543 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
SPSV Mrs. Rodgers...: Gabrielle Servito	1	4	Nov 05, 2011 04:45pm
A lecture on this book	15	144	Sep 09, 2011 02:21pm

combine
Other Editions (60)

More editions...

Genres

Classics

642 users

Literature

181 users

Novels

93 users

Short Stories

89 users

Literature > American

80 users

Philosophy

31 users

Book Club

29 users

Literature > 20th Century

25 users

Classics > Modern Classics

24 users

Adult Fiction

23 users

See top shelves...

Readers Also Enjoyed

About J.D. Salinger

Jerome David Salinger was an American author, best known for his 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, as well as his reclusive nature. His last original published work was in 1965; he gave his last interview in 1980. Raised in Manhattan, Salinger began writing short stories while in secondary school, and published several stories in the early 1940s before serving in World War II. In 1948 he publishe...moreJerome David Salinger was an American author, best known for his 1951 novel The Catcher in the Rye, as well as his reclusive nature. His last original published work was in 1965; he gave his last interview in 1980. Raised in Manhattan, Salinger began writing short stories while in secondary school, and published several stories in the early 1940s before serving in World War II. In 1948 he published the critically acclaimed story "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" in The New Yorker magazine, which became home to much of his subsequent work. In 1951 Salinger released his novel The Catcher in the Rye, an immediate popular success. His depiction of adolescent alienation and loss of innocence in the protagonist Holden Caulfield was influential, especially among adolescent readers. The novel remains widely read and controversial, selling around 250,000 copies a year.

The success of The Catcher in the Rye led to public attention and scrutiny: Salinger became reclusive, publishing new work less frequently. He followed Catcher with a short story collection, Nine Stories (1953), a collection of a novella and a short story, Franny and Zooey (1961), and a collection of two novellas, Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction (1963). His last published work, a novella entitled "Hapworth 16, 1924", appeared in The New Yorker on June 19, 1965.

Afterward, Salinger struggled with unwanted attention, including a legal battle in the 1980s with biographer Ian Hamilton and the release in the late 1990s of memoirs written by two people close to him: Joyce Maynard, an ex-lover; and Margaret Salinger, his daughter. In 1996, a small publisher announced a deal with Salinger to publish "Hapworth 16, 1924" in book form, but amid the ensuing publicity, the release was indefinitely delayed. He made headlines around the globe in June 2009, after filing a lawsuit against another writer for copyright infringement resulting from that writer's use of one of Salinger's characters from The Catcher in the Rye. Salinger died of natural causes on January 27, 2010, at his home in Cornish, New Hampshire.
(less)

More about J.D. Salinger...

Books by J.D. Salinger

Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Pin It

Trivia About Franny and Zooey

41 trivia questions
1 quiz

More quizzes & trivia...

Quotes from Franny and Zooey

“I'm sick of just liking people. I wish to God I could meet somebody I could respect.” — 1,154 people liked it

“I'm sick of not having the courage to be an absolute nobody.” — 554 people liked it

More quotes…

Groups That Shelved Franny and Zooey

Romance Readers Reading C...

4393 members

last activity 0 minutes ago

shelf: read

College Students!

1817 members

last activity 21 hours, 34 min ago

shelf: read

Pick-a-Shelf

731 members

last activity 4 hours, 46 min ago

shelf: read

title link	preview: Franny and Zooey
avg rating	preview: Franny and Zooey Goodreads rating: 3.97 (56802 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/77531.Franny_and_Zooey?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327690480m/77531.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/77531.Franny_and_Zooey?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger[/url]

Franny and Zooey

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Readers Also Enjoyed

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website