3.4 out of 4 stars.
We all had to read J.D. Salinger’s, “The Catcher in The Rye” in high school. However, only some of us really absorbed the messages instead of just trying to get through it for a good grade. Unfortunately, I was not one of those people that appreciated it at the moment. Too busy living a life to really be able to sit down and marinate with the lessons it was providing.They say that Salinger’s books are for the adolescents. The themes geared to problems youth would encounter. I wish I had known that then so I could of really taken this book, “My Salinger Year” to the next level of understanding.
The year is 1996. Rakoff writes about her first job after quitting Graduate school in London with her focus in writing. She takes on a temp to perm job at a place called “The Agency” (really just a code name for privacy purposes) where she is set back into another world. No computers! She has to hand type everything out. As you can image time moves slow until one of the only famous clients under The Agency’s roster calls. It is J.D. Salinger. He is interested in publishing a book he has kept on the back burner for years.
Rakoff’s career starts during that moment and more dramatically, her whole life starts.
There are lots of parallels going on in this book because the reader can identify with Rakoff and her journey living in New York City, barely getting by, and trying to discover her passions and independence. This juxtaposes with Rakoff seeing herself in Salinger’s characters and using them to bring some clarity into her decisions.
If you are a Salinger fan I highly recommend picking this up. You are able to get to him on a deeper level while taking a look into the agency life. I have read a few of his books a long time ago and this has sprung my interest to reread more thoroughly. I think there is a reason he is someone that will go down in history as one of the all star authors of his time.
I am not surprised that Rakoff wrote about her year at The Agency, it seems like it was an incredible experience.
P.S. My name came from a J.D. Salinger book so I may be a little bit biased. Nine Stories’ “For Esme With Love and Squalor”. Check it out!
