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A Girl I Knew
شايد براي هر کسي دست کم يک شهر وجود داشته باشد که دير يا زود در آن با دختر مورد علاقه اش رو به رو شود. نمي دانم اين خوب است يا بد که براي هيچ مردي - که عشقش را ديده - دوري يا نزديکي آن شهر يا آساني رفت و آمد به آن اهميتي ندارد. دختر آن جاست و تنها همين مهم است.
Unknown Binding
First published February 1, 1948
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About the author
J.D. Salinger
146 books16.2k followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Works, most notably novel The Catcher in the Rye (1951), of American writer Jerome David Salinger often concern troubled, sensitive adolescents.
People well know this author for his reclusive nature. He published his last original work in 1965 and gave his last interview in 1980. Reared in city of New York, Salinger began short stories 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, his subsequent home magazine. He released an immediate popular success. His depiction of adolescent alienation and loss of innocence in the protagonist Holden Caulfield especially influenced adolescent readers. Widely read and controversial, sells a quarter-million copies a year.
The success led to public attention and scrutiny: reclusive, he published new work less frequently. He followed with a short story collection, Nine Stories (1953), 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. In the late 1990s, Joyce Maynard, a close ex-lover, and Margaret Salinger, his daughter, wrote and released his memoirs. In 1996, a small publisher announced a deal with Salinger to publish "Hapworth 16, 1924" in book form, but the ensuing publicity indefinitely delayed the release.
Another writer used one of his characters, resulting in copyright infringement; he filed a lawsuit against this writer and afterward made headlines around the globe in June 2009. Salinger died of natural causes at his home in Cornish, New Hampshire.
Works, most notably novel The Catcher in the Rye (1951), of American writer Jerome David Salinger often concern troubled, sensitive adolescents.
People well know this author for his reclusive nature. He published his last original work in 1965 and gave his last interview in 1980. Reared in city of New York, Salinger began short stories 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, his subsequent home magazine. He released an immediate popular success. His depiction of adolescent alienation and loss of innocence in the protagonist Holden Caulfield especially influenced adolescent readers. Widely read and controversial, sells a quarter-million copies a year.
The success led to public attention and scrutiny: reclusive, he published new work less frequently. He followed with a short story collection, Nine Stories (1953), 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. In the late 1990s, Joyce Maynard, a close ex-lover, and Margaret Salinger, his daughter, wrote and released his memoirs. In 1996, a small publisher announced a deal with Salinger to publish "Hapworth 16, 1924" in book form, but the ensuing publicity indefinitely delayed the release.
Another writer used one of his characters, resulting in copyright infringement; he filed a lawsuit against this writer and afterward made headlines around the globe in June 2009. Salinger died of natural causes at his home in Cornish, New Hampshire.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews
March 4, 2015
"Probably for every man there is at least one city that sooner or later turns into a girl. How well or how badly the man actually knew the girl doesn’t necessarily affect the transformation. She was there, and she was the whole city, and that’s that."
February 1, 2025
This story is so Salinger that no one would have to tell you who wrote it if it came without a title or byline. The first half of the story is very coming-of-age, young-man-meets world; as our narrator is sent to Vienna in 1936 to study German in hopes of joining his father's firm. It is poignant and humorous, making me chuckle. The second half will tear your heart out.
Probably for every man there is at least one city that sooner or later turns into a girl. How well or how badly the man actually knew the girl doesn’t necessarily affect the transformation. She was there, and she was the whole city, and that’s that.
I don’t know any more. I used to know, but I lost the knowledge a long time ago. A man can’t go along indefinitely carrying around in his pocket a key that doesn’t fit anything.
No wonder people would not leave Salinger alone. Even his short-stories are small masterpieces.
Probably for every man there is at least one city that sooner or later turns into a girl. How well or how badly the man actually knew the girl doesn’t necessarily affect the transformation. She was there, and she was the whole city, and that’s that.
I don’t know any more. I used to know, but I lost the knowledge a long time ago. A man can’t go along indefinitely carrying around in his pocket a key that doesn’t fit anything.
No wonder people would not leave Salinger alone. Even his short-stories are small masterpieces.
December 2, 2015
I hunted this short story down after I saw this quote mentioned in an article on the best quotes in literature:
"She wasn't doing a thing that I could see, except standing there leaning on the balcony railing, holding the universe together."
I loved the story and fell even more in love with Salinger's writing. It was full of great quotes.
"Probably for every man there is at least one city that sooner or later turns into a girl. How well or how badly the man actually knew the girl doesn’t necessarily affect the transformation. She was there, and she was the whole city, and that’s that."
"She wasn't doing a thing that I could see, except standing there leaning on the balcony railing, holding the universe together."
I loved the story and fell even more in love with Salinger's writing. It was full of great quotes.
"Probably for every man there is at least one city that sooner or later turns into a girl. How well or how badly the man actually knew the girl doesn’t necessarily affect the transformation. She was there, and she was the whole city, and that’s that."
November 14, 2018
Even though Salinger was formed by the war, he never exactly writes about war. But this really short story has atleast traces of war in the background. I'm not sure how Salinger brings up characters so real in very few words, it's a shame that he decided to shred his works. Stupid weird old man.
April 5, 2020
هشت داستان کوتاه از سلینجر
آوای اندوهناک رو خیلی دوس داشتم، ترجمه هم خوب بود.
احتمالا اگه پاورقی و توضیحات متن به اخر کتاب منتقل نشده بود ۵ میدادم.
درکل لذت بردم.
آوای اندوهناک رو خیلی دوس داشتم، ترجمه هم خوب بود.
احتمالا اگه پاورقی و توضیحات متن به اخر کتاب منتقل نشده بود ۵ میدادم.
درکل لذت بردم.
May 21, 2016
دومین باری که از علی شیعه علی ترجمه میخونم.و واقعن جالب نبود.موضوع بعدی ذاینکه واقعن مزخرفه که هر مترجم و انتشارات واس خودش چهارتا داستان از یه نویسنده رو برداره بزنه تو یه کتاب و با یه اسم بده بیرون.اینم بخش زیادیش به دلیل نداشتن کپی رایت توی این لیلی پوته
May 21, 2014
تا اینجا که همون داستانای کتاب " هفته ای یه بار آدمو نمیکشه " اس. فقط اینو میدونم که اگه قرار باشه هر انتشاراتی یه کتاب رو برداره و با یه عنوان جدید برای خودش چاپ کنه در حق خواننده اجحاف کرده! واقعا متاسفم...
December 30, 2018
"A man can't go along indefinitely carrying around in his pocket a key that doesn't fit anything." - J.D. Salinger
April 5, 2016
شش داستان از هشت داستان این مجموعه را در مجموعههای دیگری که از سلینجر ترجمه شده، خوانده بودم.
January 1, 2019
Savršen početak nove godine i najljepši rođendanski poklon jer ne znam kako mi je ova priča dosad promakla! Svi već znate da je Selindžer za mene Bog bogova, najvoljeniji pisac svih vremena, rođen baš na današnji dan kad i ja. Mislim da je veza više nego očigledna. Šalu na stranu, obožavam njegovo pisanje i pisala sam već više puta o njegovom umijeću i tome da je neprevaziđeni genije posebno kad je u pitanju forma (kratke) priče. Za koji dan ću detaljnije i o ovoj. Svakako preporučujem, jer je, kao i sve njegovo, besprekorna i idealna za simboličan početak novog ljeta i proslavu rođendana ovog virtuoza.
May 8, 2015
یه چیزی که برام شگفت انگیزه اینه که به نظر میرسه سلینجر واقعاً به خانواده "کالفیلد" باور داشته! ینی باور واقعی. با اینکه به احتما قریب به یقین، این خانواده و اعضاش همگی از تخیلات سلینجر زاییده شدن، ولی این نویسنده به قدری از اعضای مختلف این خانواده در داستان هاش (اعم از داستان های کوتاه و رمان ها)استفاده کرده که تو فکر می کنی با اعضای این خانواده توی یه خونه زندگی می کنه و باهاشون رفت و آمد داره و این طوری بوده که تونسته این شناخت دقیق رو ازشون پیدا کنه
داستان "شورش کوچک در مدیسون" رو خیلی دوست داشتم و 3 تا از داستان های کتاب رو هم قبل از این در مجموعه داستان های دیگه ای که از سلینجر منتشر شده بود خونده بودم. بازم دلم می خواد به این نکته اشاره کنم که واقعاً حرکت فرومایه ایه که هر مترجمی، هر چنتا داستان از هر نویسنده ای رو که دلش می خواد و می دونه توی ایران طرفدار داره، جمع می کنه و در قالب یه مجموعه داستان با اسمی که خودش انتخاب می کنه می فروشه.
یه نکته دیگه هم اینه که هرگز ترجمه ای از آقای "علی شیعه علی" نخونید. نه تنها ترجمه این کتاب بسیار بد و آماتور بود، بلکه همین مترجم باعث شد من تجربه خوبی از خوندن کتاب معروف " فارنهایت 451 "در ذهن نداشته باشم. بسیار خشک و بی روح ترجمه می کنن و بعضی وقتا یه اشتباهات آماتوری از ایشون می بینم که با خودم می گم آیا این آدم قبل از اینکه مترجم بشه جمعاً 50 تا رمان ترجمه شده خونده بود یا نه؟
داستان "شورش کوچک در مدیسون" رو خیلی دوست داشتم و 3 تا از داستان های کتاب رو هم قبل از این در مجموعه داستان های دیگه ای که از سلینجر منتشر شده بود خونده بودم. بازم دلم می خواد به این نکته اشاره کنم که واقعاً حرکت فرومایه ایه که هر مترجمی، هر چنتا داستان از هر نویسنده ای رو که دلش می خواد و می دونه توی ایران طرفدار داره، جمع می کنه و در قالب یه مجموعه داستان با اسمی که خودش انتخاب می کنه می فروشه.
یه نکته دیگه هم اینه که هرگز ترجمه ای از آقای "علی شیعه علی" نخونید. نه تنها ترجمه این کتاب بسیار بد و آماتور بود، بلکه همین مترجم باعث شد من تجربه خوبی از خوندن کتاب معروف " فارنهایت 451 "در ذهن نداشته باشم. بسیار خشک و بی روح ترجمه می کنن و بعضی وقتا یه اشتباهات آماتوری از ایشون می بینم که با خودم می گم آیا این آدم قبل از اینکه مترجم بشه جمعاً 50 تا رمان ترجمه شده خونده بود یا نه؟
December 20, 2018
Prelepo <3
October 5, 2016
You pluck a few quotes from here and there, and get dazzled by their beauty.
Leah's knock on my door was always poetry - high, beautifully wavering, absolutely perpendicular poetry. Her knock started out speaking of her own innocence and beauty, and accidentally ended speaking of the innocence and beauty of all very young girls. I was always half-eaten away by the respect and happiness when I opened the door for Leah.
And its better known counter-part, which always made me think better of J. D. Salinger's ability to craft beautiful sentences.
The apartment below mine had the only balcony of the house. I saw a girl standing on it, completely submerged in the pool of autumn twilight. She wasn't doing a thing that I could see, except standing there leaning on the balcony railing, holding the universe together.
But put it all together, and the sum of all the parts does not match up against an individual part. Not to say that I didn't like the story in its entirety, but considering how much I love the aforementioned quotes, my hopes were riding much too high, and the story couldn't quite raise itself to that height.
Again, I feel myself divided over Salinger and his writings. There are bits and pieces of genius surrounded by a landscape of lesser appeal. I should probably read a bit more by him just to be sure.
Leah's knock on my door was always poetry - high, beautifully wavering, absolutely perpendicular poetry. Her knock started out speaking of her own innocence and beauty, and accidentally ended speaking of the innocence and beauty of all very young girls. I was always half-eaten away by the respect and happiness when I opened the door for Leah.
And its better known counter-part, which always made me think better of J. D. Salinger's ability to craft beautiful sentences.
The apartment below mine had the only balcony of the house. I saw a girl standing on it, completely submerged in the pool of autumn twilight. She wasn't doing a thing that I could see, except standing there leaning on the balcony railing, holding the universe together.
But put it all together, and the sum of all the parts does not match up against an individual part. Not to say that I didn't like the story in its entirety, but considering how much I love the aforementioned quotes, my hopes were riding much too high, and the story couldn't quite raise itself to that height.
Again, I feel myself divided over Salinger and his writings. There are bits and pieces of genius surrounded by a landscape of lesser appeal. I should probably read a bit more by him just to be sure.
October 11, 2024
the fact that I'm so disinterested in every single archetype of character that salinger (an unrepentant misogynist to his bones, to the very core outlook of his life) writes and yet I read and reread all his works is a real testament to how much I love his writing. I care for characters I usually would not even care about as real people. is "She wasn’t doing a thing that I could see, except standing there leaning on the balcony railing, holding the universe together" the Male Gaze? Yes. Is it a line of literature that has stayed with my now for over ten years? also yes.
March 10, 2019
این کتابو خیلی سال پیش خریدم ، وقتی عاشق داستانای کوتاه بودم
تا این که پارسال بعد از خوندن ناطور دشت و اشنایی با سلینجر ، همش تو فکر این بودم این کتابو بخونم دوباره ، چون تقریبا هیچی ازش یادم نبود
خوندمش مثل بقیه کتابای سلینجر خیلی چسبید
از همه بیشتر الین و اوای اندوهناک
دو تا از داستاناش (من دیوانه ام و شورش کوچک در مدیسون ) برشی از ناطور دشت که این دوتا هم خیلی چسبید
تا این که پارسال بعد از خوندن ناطور دشت و اشنایی با سلینجر ، همش تو فکر این بودم این کتابو بخونم دوباره ، چون تقریبا هیچی ازش یادم نبود
خوندمش مثل بقیه کتابای سلینجر خیلی چسبید
از همه بیشتر الین و اوای اندوهناک
دو تا از داستاناش (من دیوانه ام و شورش کوچک در مدیسون ) برشی از ناطور دشت که این دوتا هم خیلی چسبید
June 27, 2013
شاید برای هر کسی دست کم یک شهر وجود دارد که دیر یا زود در آن با دختر مورد علاقه اش رو به رو شود. نمی دانم خوب است یا بد که برای هیچ مردی-که عشقش را دیده- دوری یا نزدیکی آن شهر و سختی یا آسانی رفت و آمد به آن, اهمیتی ندارد. دختر آن جاست و تنها همین مهم است
January 7, 2024
داستان مورد علاقهم از این مجموعه، «دختری که میشناختم» بود که اسم کتاب هم از روی همین داستان انتخاب شده. البته اینکه زبان آموز آلمانی هستم روی این انتخاب و سلیقهم قطعاً تاثیر گذاشت(چون داستان کمی با زبان آلمانی بازی میکنه) ترجمه هم خوب نبود.
January 13, 2016
"She wasn't doing a thing that I could see, except standing there leaning on the balcony railing, holding the universe together."
April 1, 2021
امتیاز اصلی ۳.۵
قلم نویسنده رو دوست دارم. دور از پیچیدگی اما ساده هم نیست.
قلم نویسنده رو دوست دارم. دور از پیچیدگی اما ساده هم نیست.
November 9, 2020
The apartment below mine had the only balcony of the house. I saw a girl standing on it, completely submerged in the pool of autumn twilight. She wasn't doing a thing that I could see, except standing there leaning on the balcony railing, holding the universe together..
Such a beautiful and realistic story 🥺💜 .I think this story will stuck with me .
Such a beautiful and realistic story 🥺💜 .I think this story will stuck with me .
January 15, 2015
Easy short read with excellent quotes.. "Probably for every man there is at least one city that sooner or later turns into a girl. " , "She wasn't doing a thing that I could see, except standing there leaning on the balcony railing, holding the universe together."
September 19, 2013
برای کسی که اول ناتوره دشت رو خونده چندان چنگی به دل نمی زنه
ترجمه اش واقعا افتضاحه
ترجمه اش واقعا افتضاحه
Read
January 5, 2021"I don't know any more. I used to know, but I lost the knowledge a long time ago. A man can't go along indefinitely carrying around in his pocket a key that doesn't fit anything."
Salinger,
in another life we could have gotten along. We would have disagreed at length about the way you write of a woman's beauty and how unrealistic it seems to one ("Her beauty held the universe together"). We would have stayed up talking about who the real woman behind Jean was. About whether "lost knowledge" is ever really lost, rather discarded for it has proved useless in a world with no takers. Whether unrequited feelings were reason enough to go on, whether love made you a better writer. Whether adapting to loneliness was better than facing the disappointment that no one, regardless of how close they are to you, can truly understand you, where you come from and where you eventually want to go, or if you thought it was more cowardly to do so. We'd write letters to each other from wherever we were, and they would elude the lies of comfort our loved ones resort to and never once call the other delusional for being a closeted romantic (our worlds have committed to lunacy, what's a little romanticism amidst the chaos?) and imagining possibilities even when our circumstance strongly suggest otherwise.
I'm quite certain of it Salinger, despite what this story suggests, you'd write back, if I wrote to you.
Salinger,
in another life we could have gotten along. We would have disagreed at length about the way you write of a woman's beauty and how unrealistic it seems to one ("Her beauty held the universe together"). We would have stayed up talking about who the real woman behind Jean was. About whether "lost knowledge" is ever really lost, rather discarded for it has proved useless in a world with no takers. Whether unrequited feelings were reason enough to go on, whether love made you a better writer. Whether adapting to loneliness was better than facing the disappointment that no one, regardless of how close they are to you, can truly understand you, where you come from and where you eventually want to go, or if you thought it was more cowardly to do so. We'd write letters to each other from wherever we were, and they would elude the lies of comfort our loved ones resort to and never once call the other delusional for being a closeted romantic (our worlds have committed to lunacy, what's a little romanticism amidst the chaos?) and imagining possibilities even when our circumstance strongly suggest otherwise.
I'm quite certain of it Salinger, despite what this story suggests, you'd write back, if I wrote to you.
January 14, 2024
As soon as i reached the second page, i remembered that i had read this short story in a persian-translated collection.
Here's some quotes i really liked:
I think that if Goethe’s Werther and all his sorrows had been placed on the promenade deck of the S.S. Rex beside me and all "my sorrows, he would have looked by comparison like a rather low comedian.
-----
Probably for every man there is at least one city that sooner or later turns into a girl. How well or how badly the man actually knew the girl doesn’t necessarily affect the transformation. She was there, and she was the whole city, and that’s that.
-----
Maybe I consistently hesitated to risk letting the thing we had together deteriorate into a romance. I don’t know any more. I used to know, but I lost the knowledge a long time ago. A man can’t go along indefinitely carrying around in his pocket a key that doesn’t fit anythig.
-----
I don’t really remember our first evening in my sitting room. All our evenings were pretty much the same. I can’t honestly separate one from another; not any more, anyway.
-----
When I looked at Leah again, her beauty seemed too great for the size of the room. The only way to make room for it was to speak of it. “Sie sind sehr schön. Weissen Sie dass?” I almost shouted at her.
1402/10/24
Here's some quotes i really liked:
I think that if Goethe’s Werther and all his sorrows had been placed on the promenade deck of the S.S. Rex beside me and all "my sorrows, he would have looked by comparison like a rather low comedian.
-----
Probably for every man there is at least one city that sooner or later turns into a girl. How well or how badly the man actually knew the girl doesn’t necessarily affect the transformation. She was there, and she was the whole city, and that’s that.
-----
Maybe I consistently hesitated to risk letting the thing we had together deteriorate into a romance. I don’t know any more. I used to know, but I lost the knowledge a long time ago. A man can’t go along indefinitely carrying around in his pocket a key that doesn’t fit anythig.
-----
I don’t really remember our first evening in my sitting room. All our evenings were pretty much the same. I can’t honestly separate one from another; not any more, anyway.
-----
When I looked at Leah again, her beauty seemed too great for the size of the room. The only way to make room for it was to speak of it. “Sie sind sehr schön. Weissen Sie dass?” I almost shouted at her.
1402/10/24
June 8, 2025
A good short story with moments of beautiful poetic writing.
“The apartment below mine had the only balcony of the house. I saw a girl standing on it, completely submerged in the pool of autumn twilight. She wasn't doing a thing that I could see, except standing there leaning on the balcony railing, holding the universe together.”
“Probably for every man there is at least one city that sooner or later turns into a girl. How well or how badly the man actually knew the girl doesn’t necessarily affect the transformation. She was there, and she was the whole city, and that’s that.”
“Maybe I just worried too much about things. Maybe I consistently hesitated to risk letting the thing we had together deteriorate into a romance. I don’t know any more. I used to know, but I lost the knowledge a long time ago. A man can’t go along indefinitely carrying around in his pocket a key that doesn’t fit anything.”
“The apartment below mine had the only balcony of the house. I saw a girl standing on it, completely submerged in the pool of autumn twilight. She wasn't doing a thing that I could see, except standing there leaning on the balcony railing, holding the universe together.”
“Probably for every man there is at least one city that sooner or later turns into a girl. How well or how badly the man actually knew the girl doesn’t necessarily affect the transformation. She was there, and she was the whole city, and that’s that.”
“Maybe I just worried too much about things. Maybe I consistently hesitated to risk letting the thing we had together deteriorate into a romance. I don’t know any more. I used to know, but I lost the knowledge a long time ago. A man can’t go along indefinitely carrying around in his pocket a key that doesn’t fit anything.”
January 19, 2023
once in a blue moon, i remember this story. love!
December 15, 2024
"She wasn’t doing a thing that I could see, except standing there leaning on the balcony railing, holding the universe together." 10/10 no notes
February 5, 2010
تقريبا تمام داستان هايش را با ترجمه هاي ديگر قبلا خوانده بودم.
باز هم از خواندنشان لذت بردم. خصوصا از داستان اول و آخر از مجموعه ي هشت داستان که نام هايشان وقتي رعد و برق زد بيدارم کن و آواي اندوهناک بود.
باز هم از خواندنشان لذت بردم. خصوصا از داستان اول و آخر از مجموعه ي هشت داستان که نام هايشان وقتي رعد و برق زد بيدارم کن و آواي اندوهناک بود.
June 4, 2025
ამ პატარა მოთხრობაშია ჩემი ყველა დროის ყველაზე საყვარელი ციტატა: She wasn't doing a thing that I could see, except standing there leaning on the balcony railing, holding the universe together.
თუ შეიძლება, რომ სიტყვებზე ქრაში გქონდეს, მაშინ ეს სწორედ ეგ შემთხვევაა.
თუ შეიძლება, რომ სიტყვებზე ქრაში გქონდეს, მაშინ ეს სწორედ ეგ შემთხვევაა.
March 8, 2016
خیــــــلی خوب و لطیف بود ! اینکه شخصیت اکثر داستاناش با ناتور دشت یکی بودن برام جالب بود
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