“Nine Stories” by J. D. Salinger

I don’t remember when I first read a copy of The New Yorker. It was probably at the apartment of another biomedical engineer in college who I had a crush on. I subscribed not long after and read it off and on for years. Their longer articles stick in the mind better than the short ones. Eventually, however, I decided to spend my limited reading time on the classics. Older books are more likely worthwhile than something that was just written.

This month in bookclub we read “Nine Stories” by J. D. Salinger. Salinger’s career was launched by The New Yorker, and in particular the first story—”A Perfect Day for Bananafish”. His collection of stories is still too young to really be called a “Classic”, but they were all entertaining. Were they more than that?

One doesn’t always need more from a book than entertainment, but its my habit to ask what is a book’s ethical impact—how will it, if even in some slight way, change how you live your life? I don’t think Salinger’s short story collection included any useful ideas, but it is filled with experiences. Being in the head of a veteran who decides the bananas aren’t worth living with. Two old college roommates, one with a daughter, one with a career—getting drunk like old times. Friend and boy intrigue with a high-schooler in New York. A young boy’s experience of summer sports camp. Two servants and a mom’s struggle with their four-year-old who likes to run away. The redemption of an American WWII soldier by an articulate British girl’s gifted watch. A work affair between a woman and an older man. An artist working at a mail-in art school in Montreal. The death of a Buddhist boy who can see the past and future.

Experiences shape our actions somehow in an indirect way. J. D. Salinger seems to be writing from reality. There’s Hemmingway and there’s J. K. Rowling, much like there is Georgia O’Keefe, who painted what was in front of her, and Chagall, who painted from his imagination. I trust Salinger’s descriptions, since his descriptions of New York feel correct to me. Even if they’re not correct, maybe they help one look and think about people a bit better. What value there is in these shared experiences is hard to say.

What else can be said about this collection? Seven of the nine feature children. I think he captures children well. Their way of talking and seeing the world.

Also, all of the stories are filled with dialogue that emphasizes our irrational natures. People don’t listen to each other. They contradict themselves. “I’m not going to go into detail”, but then he goes into a lot of detail.

The last story, “Teddy”, is interesting in that Salinger became interested in various religious movements and meditating. As he got older, he seems to have seduced much younger women with letters. All of this gives me a bad taste. I used to separate the art and the artist, but I don’t think this is right or appropriate. You need to trust the artist at some level. This is why AI art won’t replace human art. It’s also why people care that Seneca was rich.