Jenny's Bookshelf- Franny & Zooey- JD Salinger

I thought at the beginning of the year I would start myself off with a nice easy read 150 pages in the hope of getting the reading bug again and my year would be off to a flyer. However, 2 and a half months later I turned the final page of this skinny little novel.

I must stress this has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of the book itself as I have enjoyed it immensely, and more to do with the fact I have had a busy start to the year and as is often the case, reading fell to the bottom of my list of priorities as my brain was jammed full of other nonsense.

I picked up Franny and Zooey as I was keen to read more from JD Salinger having enjoyed Catcher in the Rye so much.

The novel is split into 2 sections: Franny & Zooey. It feels obvious to say considering that is the title of the book, but it isn’t often a novel comprises of only 2 chapters. We begin the tale stood on a train platform eagerly awaiting the arrival of our protagonist, or at least the one of them, Franny.

We are taken through Franny’s day as she goes on a day out with a man, who is seemingly her partner, but being privy to her inner thoughts the reader gets the feeling that she is not his biggest fan. She is nervous about something, but it is not revealed to us what it is she is so nervous about.

This chapter had me entirely confused; I was re-reading pages to work out if I had missed an important detail that would make the puzzle pieces scattered around my head fall neatly into place. The pieces remained scattered, I remained confused and I believe that was the whole point of the chapter itself.

Zooey's part had me laughing aloud at points. There is a back and forth between him and his mother that is beautifully written, the picture was painted so vividly. The harsh sarcasm between them felt so familiar, it was coarse and dark in a way that only close family would dare to speak to one another. It served to demonstrate a real closeness and unwritten understanding between the characters; I really enjoyed it.

Zooey is attempting to enjoy some alone time in the bath but is being harassed by his mother who is extremely concerned for Franny’s welfare, we are told that she has had a mental breakdown, it is revealed to us later that this is brought on by a crisis of faith.

It struck me having read Catcher in the Rye relatively recently that it is clear Salinger likes to explore the intricacies of mental health struggles in his work.

It seems quite modern in its depiction considering when it was written. Although, the more I think about it, it does make sense that mental health issues are explored within works of fiction as opposed to being discussed openly. Fiction provides a vehicle to explore such matters potentially without the vulnerability of being entirely open. The writing is incredibly compelling.

Before I was wrapped up in trying to understand it, I enjoyed the book for its prose, witty turn of phrase and presentation of family badinage, the layers of barbed comments that can only be said between family. It is an exploration of generational trauma through the eyes of two exhausted siblings. Two of their siblings are dead and their memories are preserved in a childhood bedroom. One of their siblings is far away and rarely calls, though the two at the home never hear the end of it. Both Franny and Zooey are confronting their own peculiar upbringing and religious affiliations in very different ways.

When I started to look into interpretations and different opinions on the book, I found myself stood on the precipice of a worm hole. If such a thing is even possible. I found out that there are more stories relating to the Glass family who are at the centre of this book and their stories appeared in the New Yorker in the 50s.

At first, I wanted to explore the interconnected universe until the price of the collection as a whole put the kibosh on that idea. It is not all bad news as my research has told me Nine Stories is where I should look next if I want more of Salinger's writing.

There is criticism of the structure of Franny and Zooey - by a reddit user. Whilst possibly not the most prestigious arena for literary criticism it is a treasure trove of information and opinion that I am yet to scratch the surface of. One particular user thought that the first chapter felt developed and cohesive whilst the second felt self-indulgent. For me the peculiarity of the structure adds to the intrigue and the desire to discover what is next. A quality that was definitely present here as well as in Catcher in the Rye.

I also think the difference in style of the chapters is intentional to reflect the different personalities of the siblings. Franny is seemingly direct. Zooey is a self-indulgent actor who likes the sound of his own voice; therefore, the meandering nature of his chapter is fitting.

As a whole it is a perplexing but very enjoyable read.