A memoir by Rakoff, as to her first job out of University, working in New York for a literary agent for some of the biggest literary authors of the time, including the reclusive J D Salinger.

The agency was very conservative in its approach to the conduct of its business. We are talking New York 1996 and yet it had no computer, and when it was convinced to acquire one, it did just that, it acquired one computer/screen which was not to be used except for very proscribed purposes.

Rakoff worked principally for Dorothy (you guessed it, an old school, conservative agent for personally served long standing clients, with a passion. Deals were done over long lunches; new books were offered to individual publishers (never auctioned and never ever offered to multiple publishers to scramble over).

Dorothy was the principal agent for J D Salinger, who never wanted to see let alone respond to fan letters and never accepted any invitations to anything. Hence all correspondence was directed to the agency. part of Rakoff's role was to deal with such correspondence, usually by responding with a template letter expressing regret that Salinger was unable to respond /accept the kind invitation and that the agency was under strict instructions not to forward the correspondence to Salinger.

Rakoff becomes increasingly interested in the Salinger enigma, and takes a few calls from him when her boss is unavailable.

Over the year in question, we follow Rakoff in her maturing relationship with her friends and acquaintances (work and otherwise).

It is a fascinating read as to a person starting a career in a fascinating scenario.

One does not need to have read Salinger (or indeed to have ever heard of him) to enjoy this memoir.

Very much recommended for anyone you enjoys a memoir.

Big Ship

8 April 2024 ( )

A very interesting account of the author's year working at a literary agency in New York. ( )

I just loved this book! ( )

What a delightful read! For those of you looking for an enjoyable, lighthearted easy-to-read memoir that doesn't involve rape, murder, incest, or terrible heartbreak, this one's a good bet. Joanna tells the story of her job as an assistant at the Agency, a literary agency in New York that is both prestigious and extremely resistant to change. The Agency happens to represent "Jerry" also known as the reclusive J.R. Salinger. Salinger gets quite loving treatment in Rakoff's hands, but the Agency and her socialist boyfriend, Don, do not. The story is a small one, and you won't be on an emotional roller coaster by any means, but it was just an intriguing look from an insider perspective at Agency life as well as the story of a young woman trying to make her way in the world for the first time. The literary angle was icing on the cake for this book lover. I have read some Salinger, but this book also really made me want to revisit Catcher in the Rye and read Nine Stories already. It was very helpful to have recently read Franny and Zooey since that book was referenced quite a bit. If you like Salinger, definitely add this to your list. ( )

Joanna Rakoff's MY SALINGER YEAR (2014) is a memoir, something I had to keep reminding myself, because it reads like a novel, and a pretty good one at that. In it, Rakoff looks back at 1995-96, the year she spent working as a Iow-paid "assistant" to a demanding "boss" at an unnamed prestigious NYC literary agency after dropping out of grad school. An aspiring poet, she also leaves her long-time boyfriend and moves into a rundown, unheated apartment with an older, world-wise, self-styled "socialist," also an aspiring writer. Her boss's main client is, of course, the reclusive J.D. Salinger, or "Jerry," as she comes to know him via her boss (who is herself a strange character). Rakoff had never read any of Salinger's work, but finally reads all of it, over one long marathon weekend of reading. Holden and the Glass family and Salinger's New York City all come alive for her then, especially so as she reads the author's voluminous fan mail, still arriving daily. One of her jobs at the agency is reading that mail, and to respond with a form letter, which she finds hard to do. There is much here about the publishing game, "slush piles," books, agents and poor wages, as well as some glimpses of Rakoff's family background and her troubled dating life in the 1990s. As I said, it reads like fiction, or, at the very least, "creative non-fiction."

The book was actually something of an international bestseller, translated into several languages, but I only heard about it because I read Rakoff's blurb on the back of another book, Daisy Alpert Florin's debut novel, MY LAST INNOCENT YEAR, just released this week (a book I actually enjoyed even more than this one).

J.D. Salinger, even though he is gone now, and published nothing after 1965, continues to have millions of fans worldwide. I suspect that fact helped make Rakoff's book a success, though Salinger himself is mostly a peripheral character here. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Very highly recommended.

- Tim Bazzett, author of the memoir, BOOKLOVER ( )