For Esme - with Love and Squalor: And Other Stories

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an American, was best known for his 1951 novel "The Catcher in the Rye", as well as his reclusive nature. His last original published work was in 1965; he gave his last interview in 1980. He was one of the most influential writers of his generation.

One of them threw an empty whiskey bottle through my aunt's window. Fortunately, the window was open. But does that sound very intelligent to you?" She agrees, and the narrator and his newfound companion launch into a conversation that spans various subjects. The narrator explains that he saw the girl at choir practice; it turns out she already knew. The girl has plans to be a jazz singer on the radio; after making “heaps of money”, she will “retire and live on a ranch in Ohio.” She asks the narrator if he goes “to that secret Intelligence school on the hill.” He replies that he is visiting Devon for his health. “ Really,” she quips, “I wasn’t quite born yesterday, you know.” I said I'd bet she hadn't been, at that. I drank my tea for a moment. I was getting a trifle posture-conscious and I sat up somewhat straighter in my seat.

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In each of the nine stories, no emotion is spared, no sentiment is over or under stated, as the trials and tribulations of life are laid bare in simple texts with some strong and poignant themes running through all of them. Not all the stories contain the potency of the two I mentioned. But each story deserves to be read thoughtfully and enjoyed fully, methodically, even reverently. I remembered four of the nine stories well, the rest not at all. Shit. This throws new light on the ethics of my memory and reviewing books I read a long time ago. It's not a comfortable feeling. (Not that I won't still do it.) I'll include my old thoughts if I remember any.

Most of us associate the name J.D. Salinger with one thing: The Catcher in the Rye. However, this influential writer gave us much more than Holden Caulfield and his anti-conformist teenage angst. In fact, the body of Salinger's work available to us is mostly in the form of short stories (in the collections Franny and Zooey, Raise High the Roofbeam Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction, and Nine Stories).

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Clay glanced over at him. "Listen, ya bastard," he said. "She knows a goddam sight more psychology than you do." Staff Sergeant X's wife: At the beginning of the story, the narrator (Staff Sergeant X) remembers the name. X explains that they decided not to go to Esmé's wedding after talking to his wife. so, it’s very funny, of course, but also incredibly human and poignant and tragic. and while the tendency is to ridicule salinger for falling for a third-rate sitcom actress, it can’t help but humanize and endear him to any of us who have totally, completely, and inexplicably fallen for someone… Interestingly (I could do this all day), both stories are similar, though one is devastating and the other hopeful. Both involve a post WWII soldier suffering from PTSD. Both involve the absolute delightful innocence of a child. Both feature the most perfect dialogue. Actually, all of the nine stories feature dialogue. I'm going to have to re-read this one day, just to study the dialogue. One of the stories is almost 100% one side of a telephone call. I mean, this guy was brilliant. I just wish he'd written more. Charon R. The patient-physician relationship. Narrative medicine: a model for empathy, reflection, profession, and trust. JAMA. 2001;286(15):1897–902.