Title: Franny and Zooey
Author: J.D. Salinger
As much as I disliked Catcher in the Rye, I loved Franny and Zooey. Apparently a short story combined with an intertwining novella, it reads like a full length novel just fine, and it’s pretty intriguing, unlike Salinger’s more famous work CitR.
Franny and Zooey are the youngest children of the rather large Glass family, and the baby (Franny) starts the book off as a twenty year old histrionic having a bit of a meltdown while out to eat with her boyfriend. Her brother, Zooey, spends a large portion of his story in the bath tub talking to his intrusive mother about the meltdown that has migrated to the family’s living room.
Surprised that Zooey is a boy? I was. Apparently it used to be used as a nick name for Zachary and Zachariah. I spent all of Franny wondering how this mysterious Zooey was going to fit into the story, which at that point revolved around a girl freaking out about Bohemians and Academia the way people in their mid to late twenties today lament the so-called Hipsters. There’s not much of a plot, more of a theme of self-discovery, religion, and philosophy, and what that all really means. But I like that sort of thing, and I loved Zooey and his smart ass attitude.
It was actually pretty cold today, completely out of nowhere, so the kiddo and I spent most the day snuggled up and bundled in sweaters while reading and writing. Basically, the perfect recipe for reading a quick book like Franny and Zooey between lunches and writing sessions and nap times. I picked it up around noon and after reading tidbits here and there all day, finally wrapped it up around kiddo’s bed time. I like having books like that around, especially as I finish up my year round Les Miserables Read-A-Long. It is the kind of book I hope to publish a few of here and there before I die, not in topic and theme, but in mood. I like getting to know characters in a specific moment of their life, like Virgina Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway.
