In the shadow of a famous red hunting hat

A letter from J.D. Salinger, addressed to
a Marie Bouman,  who wrote to him
inquiring about other works by the
author.

Three of the books that currently reside on my shelf of absolute favourites are the three books by J.D. Salinger that sadly fall more than a little short of the acclaim or celebrity that The Catcher in the Rye receives. For months after finishing said book, I was genuinely under the impression that the only work ever published by Salinger was in fact the three-day chronicle of Holden Caulfield (an English teacher once spent a good twenty minutes or so talking about his life as a recluse, and how he failed to publish anything after The Catcher in the Rye). A great deal of interest was aroused upon discovering a collection of nine short stories by him in a bookstore, which under British publishing is called For Esme - With Love and Squalor, and American Nine Stories. I devoured it within a matter of days, and felt a sense of adoration for Salinger's knack for telling stories - a knack which I felt to be far from apparent in The Catcher in the Rye.

In my opinion, JD Salinger's books get better and better when they are read in the correct order, that is; The Catcher in the Rye, Nine Stories, Franny and Zooey, and Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An introduction. So here are quick reviews of the three unsung heroes of Salinger's career as a writer.

One final note: Before starting any of the following books, rid your conscience of either judgements reserved for J.D. Salinger or The Catcher In the Rye. Try to view these books as if they were by a completely different author. Do not get me wrong, there are many aspects of his writing style in the books that are Caulfield-esque, but these really are something else.

For Esme - With Love and Squalor (Nine Stories)

I intend to someday re-read this book and re-acquaint myself with the fantastic characters whose lives I delved into for twelve pages. From the firing of a gunshot to a letter for a girl in a plaid dress to a precocious and obnoxious boy's musings on a cruise liner's deck chair, Salinger shows nothing but artistry as he introduces you to a extract from his characters' lives in a manner of both unmistakable originality and down-to-earth tendency.

Note on literary allusion: For those of you who read A Series of Unfortunate Events when you were a child, and stuck around long enough to meet Count Olaf's accomplice, you'll notice that her name is a direct allusion to the eponymous short story in this book.

Franny and Zooey

I am proud to say that despite receiving this book alongside an iPhone for Christmas I had made a significant start on the book by the end of Boxing day. It has only just come to my attention that explicitly remember the tone, plot, even some of the dialogue from Franny, and absolutely nothing of its hundred-page novella counterpart Zooey. However I can assure you that it is fantastic; Franny is a third-person account of a dialogue between the eponymous protagonist and her boyfriend Lane, which could easily have been a thirty-page extrapolation of of one of Salinger's short stories; Zooey (after a little research I have recalled) portrays Zooey glass taking a bath and reading an old letter from older brother Buddy, as well as holding abusive banter with his mother, and later a discussion on religious philosophy with Franny, which leaves her - to say the least- quite upset.

Raise High the Roofbeam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction

As it has almost been a year since finishing this book, which was more an act of devouring than reading at a leisurely pace, I cannot make specific references to the text. However I distinctly remember the two novellas being told through a great narrative voice, and with a plot so intriguing that not reading on is out of the question, yet so seemingly void of excitement that it occasionally stops you for a moment and forces you to question its level of intrigue. 

As with Franny and Zooey, Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: an Introduction, is the return to the Glass family, who have appeared in three of the chapters of Nine Stories. Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters is the account of Seymour's wedding day as told by Buddy Glass, the second-oldest of the six siblings, and Seymour: an Introduction is his attempt to depict the character of his older brother in written form, as well as get to the bottom of events that occurred in previous stories of the family (I will not specify what exactly they are here in case they serve as spoilers to some). The novella also portrays the life the children lead as precocious contestants on the radio show It's a Wise Child and the children of retired vaudeville performers. Like any good work of literature, that final sentence of the book leaves a spine-chilling impression on you for what could easily be a matter of days. This is only heightened by the realisation that you have read the last published work of a great author.

Ensure that you have read the preceding three volumes of Salinger's work in prelude to starting this (there is no explicit need to read The Catcher in the Rye), as I really think that it provides the right kind of context, as well as an overall impression of the intricate subject matter that is the Glass family.

Note on literary allusion: The title Raise High the Roof Beam Carpenters is a line by the Greek lyrical poet Sappho, who is now a favourite of mine. The line appears in the novella as a quote written on the bathroom mirror by one of the Glass girls, as it is a reference to Seymour's wedding day. The full quote goes, "Raise high the roof beam, carpenters. Like Ares comes the bridegroom, taller far than a tall man." line has what I call the cellar door effect on me - when you take away the denotations, the connotations and any other notation of the words, the way they sound has an effect on the aesthetics that is, to say the least, pleasing.

Whether you have fallen in love with the works of JD Salinger or look back on them with indifference, even disdain, I urge you to read these books.  It really would be a shame to stop any sooner than the point of finishing the best works of a great contributor to modern American literature.