this book produced such a different reaction from the first time I read it, 50-60 years ago. Not only did I not like it, I was offended by much of it. And itr also was so boring with so many tedious and also body-related details. Franny was also desperately in need of psychiatric help, but was frequently belittled for her thoughts and feelings. She no doubt was attempting to achieve perfection, as aare many. The life of the family in their very overcrowded apartment due to their hoarding was desperately in need of help, but that would have felt like to defeat to many of them. ( )

The facts at hand presumably speak for themselves, but a trifle more vulgarly, I suspect, than facts even usually do.

I expected to dislike this. "Franny," the short story that proceeds the novella "Zooey" mostly reinforced that expectation and made me think I would be in for a long, slogging reading for such a short book. But it turned out to be a pretty interesting and non-traditional story about a family, and needless to say, there is a lot of flair in Salinger's prose.

First off, Zooey is a guy. I went into the story thinking it would be about two female friends, two sisters, etc. But Franny and Zooey are actually brother and sister, the youngest of the Glass kids (a family Salinger apparently wrote about in some of his other works). They were all famous as kids for regularly appearing on a quiz show. They were basically over-educated to the exclusion of other things. The story in "Franny" is picked up by the "Zooey" part. While "Franny" provides important backstory, it's not until reading "Zooey" that you see it fitting into a wider story.

While this is one of the books this year that I think I'll be most glad I read, there are definitely a couple of points that give me pause:

1. There is so much mansplaining in this book. First Lane, then Buddy kinda, then Zooey. In fact, they even define the book's different parts.

2. A 25-year-old man talking down to his mother, calling her fatty, living in her house. Maybe it's time to get a damn job, huh, buddy?

3. A lot of ego for people who call the ego of others "lousy."

All in all though, I was pretty amused by this family and the consequences they are dealing with due to their quiz-show background. I would definitely seek out Salinger's other stories about them. ( )

Bello nel modo in cui sa esserlo Salinger, anche se il primo racconto - brevissimo - rasenta la perfezione mentre il secondo eccede nell'intellettualismo dei dialoghi, che però regalano non poche perle. A proposito, la frase più divertente del libro: “Le note a piè di pagina sono un’offesa all’estetica, ma qui temo sia inevitabile farne una”. ( )

I went into this book thinking it was about lesbian women.

It's not.

In fact, Zooey is a man.

This book is the type of book that as soon as I closed it, I wanted to pick it back up and start it over again. Franny and Zooey are sister and brother from the large Glass family. Franny, a college student, is struggling with the meaning of life and is depressed. Like many, she has gone home to her family and turned to religion to help cope with her depression. Zooey is probably the last person you would think would have any insights that would help Franny. He's sarcastic, cynical, blunt and somewhat hostile. The story really is a dialogue by and large between Franny and Zooey. The book is all about their relationship, but it touches upon a lot of fascinating philosophical subjects such as religion, ego, the meaning of life, etc. If you go into reading it as if it were a play, I think your appreciation for it will be greater.

Truly thought provoking, timeless and fresh at the same time, and really made me a) want to read more Salinger and b) want to re-read this tale which may end up as five stars in the end. ( )

The very short novel Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger is in actuality a short story and a novella which were originally published separately but in 1961 were put together as published as one. The book focuses on sister Franny and brother Zooey, the two youngest members of the colorful Jewish/Irish Glass family.

The short story, entitled “Franny” tells a story about Franny going to visit her boyfriend at his university. Franny is going through a difficult time as she has become disenchanted with academia and she is questioning the importance of a college education as well as the selfishness and falseness that she sees all around her. Her boyfriend, Lane is rather obtuse and much more concerned with his affairs than in trying to help Franny. The novella, Zooey, takes place very shortly after while Franny is still in the throes of a breakdown. The mother is very concerned and approaches Zooey, in a very amusing bathroom scene, and ask him to help Franny. He does try but fails in his first attempt. He then phones her and pretends to be one of the other brothers, she eventually sees through this ruse, but they continue to talk and Franny appears to be more peaceful when the book ends.

I have to admit that it took the second story before I fully understood that Franny was having an emotional crisis. I thought that she was pregnant and having difficulty dealing with this. Apparently I was not alone in this misconception, even Salinger’s publishers thought that the short story was about a college girl facing up to pregnancy. I also have to admit that I didn’t fully understand what the author was hoping to accomplish with these stories although he does seem to stress that life can become meaningless and that religion can help in engaging one’s devotion in a meaningful way. ( )