Nine Stories
First published 1950 · English · 302 pages
- Novels
- Religion and spirituality
This collection gathers nine short stories Salinger first published in magazines, mainly The New Yorker, in the late 1940s and early 1950s. They are set mostly in postwar America and sometimes elsewhere, and they feature soldiers, married couples, bright children and lonely adults. Several are about the difficulty of connecting with others, and some touch on the Glass family. The tone moves from dry comedy to quiet sadness. Brief, precise and often puzzling, the stories are admired for their sharp dialogue and have been much discussed and studied. They are a good place to meet Salinger's shorter work.
Quotes
I never saw so many tigers.
He said I was unequipped to meet life because I had no sense of humor.
I remember wanting to do something about that enormous-faced wristwatch she was wearing — perhaps suggest that she try wearing it around her waist.
The fact is always obvious much too late, but the most singular difference between happiness and joy is that happiness is a solid and joy a liquid.