ISSUE DATE: Sept. 15, 1961
THE BUZZ:
In 21 years as a professional writer, he has produced only one novel, one collection entitled Nine Stories, and 20 other stories in magazines. And Salinger’s tempo is slowing: since 1953, he has published only four stories, though three of these are as long as short novels. He promises “some new material soon or Soon.” Despite the meagerness of his output, Salinger, at 42, has spoken with more magic, particularly to the young, than any other U.S. writer since World War II. The appearance this week of his new book, Franny and Zooey (Little, Brown; $4), actually two long, related stories that originally ran in The New Yorker, is not just a literary event but, to countless fans, an epiphany. Weeks before the official publication date, Salinger’s followers queued up, and bookstores sold out their first supplies. To a large extent, the excitement is fueled by memories of Salinger’s most famous work. For of all the characters set to paper by American authors since the war, only Holden Caulfield, the gallant scatologer of The Catcher in the Rye, has taken flesh permanently, as George F. Babbitt, Jay Gatsby, Lieut. Henry and Eugene Gant took flesh in the ’20s and ’30s.
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