Franny and Zooey

Of course, J.D. Salinger died a few weeks back, and like so many others I decided to reread one of his books. I remember liking "Franny and Zooey" a lot back in my impressionable college years. This time, though, I wasn't so thrilled by it. In fact, I almost didn't finish it.

The book is wildly uneven, which is really the worst thing a book can be. If it had been awful throughout, I would have never bothered finishing it. In this case, it had the occasional moment of greatness amidst all the tedium, just enough that I kept reading.

The first story "Franny" is really quite good, but "Zooey," the much longer story, could be infuriating at times. For example, it took about 80 pages, just for Zooey to make his way out of the bathroom. First, there was a letter from his brother to read in the tub, then a long conversation with his mother, and eventually some shaving.

And if you're ever wondering what was in a typical 1955 medicine cabinet, just turn to pages 75 and 76, where there is a 190-word sentence describing the contents of the Glass family medicine cabinet. (Note to self for Nanowrimo: Describing the contents of a medicine cabinet is a great way to pad your word total.)

At times, Salinger just seemed a little too clever and wordy for his own good. "The Catcher in the Rye" had many of the same problems, but there was also something magnificent about it. This book, though, just wasn't interesting enough for me to overlook the flaws. </speaking ill of the recently dead>