Nine Stories

By J.D. Salinger,

Book cover of Nine Stories

Book description

The "original, first-rate, serious, and beautiful" short fiction (New York Times Book Review) that introduced J. D. Salinger to American readers in the years after World War II, including "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" and the first appearance of Salinger's fictional Glass family.
Nine exceptional stories from one of the


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Why read it?

3 authors picked Nine Stories as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Nine Stories, along with Franny and Zooey provides a wonderful glimpse into the lives of several members, mostly siblings, of the Glass Family. It is the first collection of short stories I ever read (I was in high school) and I devoured it in one weekend. I remember being so impressed with how each story had its own distinct emotion and personality. It wholly inspired me and was a great influence on my current novel. It taught me something that my favorite TV shows like The Brady Bunch and The Cosby Show couldn’t—that no family is absolutely perfect. That


It doesn’t end well for old Seymour in “A Perfect Day for Bananafish,” but the way Salinger writes him, with his ability to revere the innocent child while detesting the phony adult world rings true. This is why Salinger is dangerous. If reading a book like this rings too true, it’s hard not to go through life seeing the adult world as corrupt and duplicitous. It puts a bug in one’s operating system. Salinger is kind of patient zero for a lot of young people who see the world a bit differently. On the surface, Nine Stories doesn’t seem like


From Christopher's list on being changed by war.

I enjoyed "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" and "De Daumier-Smith's Blue Period," but the real gem here in Salinger's Nine Stories is "Teddy." "Teddy" is one of the most bizarre (yet thought-provoking) stories I have ever read. I loved reading and exploring all of the possible themes in this short compilation of tales. It seems like Salinger was truly able to portray mental struggles with his characters. 

From Brandon's list on with intelligent, demented characters.

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