Franny and Zooey

Rating:
Summary: It was very long, confusing and pessimistic
Review: I didn't like this novel. It wasn't very long, but it was so slow. It didn't really have a clear theme or conflict. The characters were very confusing. It was hard to follow their actions. Franny is an immature girl, who needs help and doesn't want to receive it. Zooey is an sarcastic, cynical and very unpleasant. I didn't really like how it was divided up into sections. At first it starts out with Franny, and a couple of pages later, it turns into Zooey, making it a very rough transition. They were originally two newspaper articles. After reading Catcher in The Rye, and liking it, I thought this novel would be worthwhile, but it turned out to be a total waste of time.

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Summary: Reading beyond normal...
Review: This was a really good book because it makes you go into depth and think about everything that goes on. At times it frustrates you and at others it makes you question the actions the characters do. I think that all in all it was a very interesting book because the author makes the reader familiarize to the family's behaviors and faults. It's a story of a brother and a sister who are trying to find their true selves as they exist and try to live under the morale and standards of a disfunctional family. The way they lie and the way they talk to each other makes you think and realize the kind of lives they're living. Franny, the youngest of the Glass family has just had a breakdown in the process of discovering what the important things are to her. She seems to be falling very deep into this and all she really needs is someone to talk to. Luckily, she has the love of someone to help her out, her brother Zooey who fortunately has the courage to help her find who the 'fat lady' truly is.

Rating:
Summary: Franny and Zooey
Review: Franny and Zooey was an excellent book. The character's cynicism and reality caught my attention right away. I enjoyed Zooey most of all. I believe this is one of Salinger's best novels. The writing was simple yet thought provoking. The problems of the family were interesting and made you think of a typical dysfunctional family. I loved the reality of the book. It hit you and then forced you to listen. The theories of Zooey were profound and very interesting. I believe that Salinger is a very talented writer, one of my favorites, and he shows it in this book. I would recommend this book to anyone who can enjoy a harsh sense of reality and cynicism, mostly those in college.

Rating:
Summary: Cynical and sarcastic
Review: Franny and Zooey was a good novel, but definitely very confusing. I found it interesting to read. It wasn't really a novel I liked, but wasn't one I disliked. It was originally 2 separate articles and was then turned into a book. I think that's why it was so confusing. The transition from the Franny article to the Zooey article wasn't very clear. I think the book teaches you about the insecurities and the obsession people can get when they become tied to some type of religion. The book wasn't very long, but it was very slow, some of the scenes were described very clearly, which made it quite long and sometimes boring. Overall, I would recommend this book, because it teaches you about the sarcasm and cynicism in a person.

Rating:
Summary: Two beautiful stories
Review: I highly recommend the two stories "Frannie" and "Zooey". The stories are complex, dealing with philosophy, psychology, and religion, but the simple, central, universal theme is love. Almost everyone can relate to the characters Zooey, Frannie, Lane, Bessie, Buddy, their father, etc. and either shares characteristics with them or knows someone who does. Criticizing others for being "phony" is not a happy way to live as Franny and her brother Zooey demonstrate. Everyone is "phony" in some way and has faults and flaws; that is why almost everyone who reads this book can relate to it. Too much cynicism and criticism is unhealthy. The simple way to combat them is to love; love people, yourself, life, etc. even if they are flawed. Buddy's fat lady is in all of us and epitomizes love. Salinger's work does not carry a new, radical, profound message; his true genuis is how he states it with very human characters and realistic insights that leave the reader saying "Yes! I've felt that way before!" "I've read in the bath tub, and my mother disturbed me the whole time!" "I've felt lost at college when I couldn't decide what I wanted to do with the rest of my life!" and so many others. These characters and dilemmas are timeless which truly marks oustanding literature.

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Summary: Beyond the Constraints of Form...
Review: What is truly extraordinary about this book is that J.D. Salinger has again succeeded in creating living people from paper and pen. How many of us will ever truly know our friends and family members to the depths of any of the Salinger characters. Anyone who has read this book is acutely aware that the plot and story line are never the true goals of this writer. Salinger is one of the rare writers who want to stimulate and arouse creativity in the minds of those who read. His goal is not to lead as so many of today commercially successful writers wish to do. That is perhaps why he has chosen to isolate himself. However, people, on the wholesale level, wish to be lead. Why, do you suppose, that "How to Books" and "Self-improvement Books" are the biggest seller of many publishers? The true talent of writing exists in a few writers such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Rilke, Keats, Shelley, the person who actually wrote Shakespeare etc... and of course J.D. Salinger. If you are a person looking to be lead or inspired by some directed message, please just go to a church or read some patriotic propaganda that may inspire you to hang the American Flag. But, if want to think beyond the constraints of form or be truly inspired to imagine and dream, this is one of many wonderful works that are available to you.

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Summary: Talk about a strange childhood
Review: Frannie and Zooey is an excellently written book, examining the depths of human belief and happiness(and unhappiness) in rather bitter tone. It is the book of Weltschmertzen, of world-weariness, and it gives an example of how easy it is for humans to tire of all that they know, but it also examines how we can perhaps make peace with the listlessness inside.

Rating:
Summary: Read it.
Review: Coming from a Salinger obsessive, the stories are great. "Zooey" even made me cry at the end. Jerry rocks my world-- these two stories serve as an example of his great insight into life. If you are someone who has ever been fed up with your school or job or just life in general, you will find solace by reading F&Z.

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Summary: The possible phsycology behind mans invention and use of god
Review: I believe that this book is the possible explanation of the use and invention of god. The book tries to explain mans incapacity to be able to live with out having a possible use or purpose in life.

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Summary: Information about the book
Review: Hi! I would like to get as much information about the plot as possible. I am doing an essay on it and would like to add more information. I would be really happy if you could just send me a brief plot about the story. Thanks a lot. [e-mail]