Franny and Zooey

J. D. Salinger was an American author best known for his novel The Catcher in the Rye. Salinger fought in World War II and was affected by PTSD after the war. After the huge success of The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger became increasingly wary of public attention, and in 1953 he left New York City for the small town of Cornish, New Hampshire, where he continued to write while having little interaction with the press or the public. As of 2024, Salinger’s remaining family continues to sort through Salinger’s works and intends to publish everything that he wrote in his lifetime. Along with his only novel The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger wrote several short story collections, including Franny and Zooey, which consists of his short story Franny and his novella Zooey. Salinger explores themes of alienation, the struggles of adolescence, and the challenges of maintaining authenticity in social life. Salinger’s short story collections revolve around the Glass family. The seven Glass children serve as narrators for most of Salinger’s short stories, and even appear briefly in The Catcher in the Rye. Salinger describes the Glass children as remarkably bright, but that they have difficulty assimilating into society after being child stars on the quiz radio program “It’s a Wise Child.