3.5 out of 4 stars.
Two separate pieces brought together to create one story. Salinger first published, “Franny” in the late 1950s in The New Yorker and then moved on to write “Zoey”. He took the two and turned them into a book. What an interesting idea!
I didn’t know that tidbit until after I finished the book and it definitely made more sense after discovering that. For example, once I started the second part I felt as though I must of missed a few pages because it completely changes scenery. Dynamics changed as well because the point of view flipped. A wee bit confusing!
To backtrack, “Franny” starts off with an image of this popular and good-looking girl getting off at a train station to meet her boyfriend for the big Yale football game. She runs toward him and hugs and kisses him. He knew this was coming because just weeks before she wrote in a letter that she loved him. He had hopes that this was going to be a great weekend together.
Unfortunately, it all begins to unravel when they sit down for lunch. Franny begins to spiral downwards explaining how she is sickly beside herself lately thinking about how selfish and inauthentic people are. Cue the dramatics. She cannot even fathom eating her lunch that is in front of her. Lane, the boyfriend, gets agitated because he is confused how one minute she can be hot and the next so cold. She was falling apart right in front of his eyes. Franny excuses herself to attend the restroom and faints.
My heart goes out to Franny when I finish reading her section. It seems as though she is going through a normal identity crisis that most go through in their late teens and early 20s. I identify with her trying to smile through the troubles and request that Lane just leave her be because she is talking nonsense. However, the backdrop is much more deeper that it appears.
Flash forward to when I wrap up reading the second half of the book, “Zoey” and my thoughts completely change about anything I was contemplating before. Now I am really lost!
In this section we are introduced to Zoey who is one of Franny’s older brothers. He is essentially a genius and you can tell he gets away with many things because of it. One being that he is so incredibly rude to his own mother. So demeaning! The same mom who is begging her son to help Franny after her fainting incident that is clearly due to a crisis.
The reader finds out that two of Franny and Zoey’s brothers have died not too far apart from one another. Eureka! This could all make sense to why Franny is going through a troublesome issue. One of the deceased took his own life so now the plot is beginning to thicken.
The book seems to start and stop abruptly. This leaves us wanting more. I have read the Catcher in the Rye and I have now read, Franny and Zoey but through research it looks as though I should of started with “Raise High the Roof-Beam, Carpenters”. This story gives more of a background into the entire Glass Family (Franny and Zoey’s kin) which may help make this particular story of F+Z more clear.
I feel as though Salinger had fun with his writing and the way he presented. Nothing is how it seems and he gives you heavy and in-depth breadcrumbs (is that possible?) in each tale. His style is unlike anything I have read before which is a good thing. However, it makes it hard for me to compare it to another read. I believe in order to pick up and enjoy a Salinger read you need to be in the mood. For example, the question should be would you like to read: a horror, a mystery, a biography, a Salinger, etc?
