Franny i Zooey (1961)

am glad I stuck with Franny and Zooey to the end as en bloc the book becomes more pertinent and – it surprises even myself – looking back after a couple of weeks, I enjoyed it. But I have to say that it never fully engaged me while I was reading it, and it required all my reading muscles to battle the first 50 pages or so. I think it is one of those books that did not age well. Yes, existential questioning still happens in our day and age, it is just that the dialogue around it – at least among the people I know – became more understated and definitely less academic.
This is my first Salinger. I must read more of him to better judge his writing.
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I hated this book so much. It is the worst book I have ever read. The characters are all complete idiots and there is absolutely no plot. ( )

What an odd, strange little novel. I'm not sure what to make of it, if anything. It doesn't really seem to have a point besides giving us a picture of the Glass family, and even that is far from being complete. ( )

I wasn't sure what I was going to think about this, but I actually really liked it! I think some of the mysticism is laid on a bit thick, but Salinger's characters and occasional biting humor can propel you through just about anything. I don't know if I'm going to tackle Catcher in the Rye just yet - his style feels more like something that works in short story form and not in novel form - but this was a nice breath of fresh air. ( )

While I never fell in love with Catcher, I absolutely loved this one. If you're going to start with a Salinger, this is the one to start with. Follow it up with [b:Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters & Seymour: An Introduction|5114|Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters & Seymour An Introduction|J.D. Salinger|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390770647l/5114._SY75_.jpg|1839410]. ( )