Nine Stories
by J. D. Salinger · first published 1948
77% recommend23% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Short stories richer than their length suggests, with vivid portraits of childhood and the Glass family. A good entry point for those put off by The Catcher in the Rye.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
First published short story volume by the author of Catcher In The Rye.
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Another great set of short stories is Salinger's 9 Stories (http://www.amazon.com/Nine-Stories-J-D-Salinger/dp/031676772...). I believe he is still writing, just not publishing... hopefully one day he'll release these unseen works.
on “What Ails the Short Story” ↗…obscure cult artist. But Catcher was the opening bell of the 60s counterculture just as the 50s were getting started. Once it picked up a wave it became a tsunami. I was surprised at how good the pieces in Nine Stories are, e.g. "The Laughing Man" and "Love and Squalor". He paints childhood and adolescence beautifully, as well as charming interactions between children and sensitive young men. But it all gives an impression…
on “Ask HN: Which book are you reading?” ↗I haven't seen it! I haven't seen anything. I finished F&Z last night. The thing is a train wreck. Now I'm curious to read the rest of what Salinger published (pretty easy to do) because Catcher and Nine Stories are so good and F&Z borderline intolerable. Perhaps it was his Metal Machine Music. Does Tenenbaums principally consist of turgid dialogue about mysticism?
on “Ask HN: Which book are you reading?” ↗Older Stuff: The Bible/Quran, The Republic (Plato), The Social Contract (Rousseau), Tao Te Ching (Laozi), Brothers Karamazov (Dostoevsky), History of the Peloponnesian War (Thucydides) Newer Stuff: Nine Stories (Salinger), The Razor's Edge (Maugham), Nausea (Sartre), Siddartha (Hesse), Road to Serfdom (Hayek), The Book (Watts), Design of Everyday Things (Norman), Atlas Shrugged (Rand), Invisible Man (Ellison),…
on “Ask HN: What books do you wish your manager would read?” ↗For all the Catcher hate in this thread, the short story collection "Nine Stories" may be more interesting to those who quit on Salinger based solely on traumatic coerced readings of Catcher.
on “Did Salinger Go Awry?” ↗…a short story collection and a pair of novellas/novellettes. I read Catcher first and found it just OK. Franny and Zooey was my gateway deeper into Salinger (and Stoicism) back in high school. Liked Nine stories quite a bit on my first visit, but didn't care for Raise High & Seymour at all until a re-read over a decade later, and now that might be my favorite of his books.
on “J.D. Salinger, Unbound” ↗Anything from Salinger. Go beyond Catcher in the Rye. Nine Stories; Raise High the Roofbeam, Carpenters; Franny and Zooey. Hemingway's short fiction really kicked off a lot of reading for me. Men Without Women is a nice little collection. A couple others to go deeper…
on “Ask HN: Great fiction books that have had a positive impact on your life?” ↗…https://www.amazon.com/Machine-Stops-M-Forster/dp/1609420667 [2] https://www.amazon.com/Futurological-Congress-Memoirs-Ijon-T... [3] https://www.amazon.com/Unpleasant-Profession-Jonathan-Hoag-e... [4] https://www.amazon.com/Nine-Stories-J-D-Salinger/dp/03167695... [5] https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Screen-Peter-Gustafson-Defragmen...
on “Ask HN: Favorite Short Fiction?” ↗…collection. "Banal Story" and "Today is Friday" both very short. And is "A Very Short Story" from another collection is, as the title suggests, very short. J.D. Salinger's "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" from "Nine Stories" is a good, but dark, introduction to the Glass family, who are the subject of many of his stories. And a random one I cherish: "Boys" by Rick Moody (https://barringerlit.weebly.com/uploads/1/3/2/6/13263242/boy...)
on “Ask HN: Favorite Short Fiction?” ↗Nine Stories Franny and Zooey
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite books of all time, and why?” ↗Nine Stories - J.D. Salinger
on “Ask HN: What book had a big impact on you as a child or teenager?” ↗…problem is not exclusive to fiction. It doesn't help that information is embedded structurally in a novel, which makes it harder to tease out. But good fiction (say, Ulysses or Crime and Punishment or Nine Stories) is as rich as any essay or monograph. It's also not clear that density, in the strict sense, is what I'm after when I read. If so I'd be buried in technical papers, when what I really want is something…
on “Some Heroes” ↗I enjoyed his books greatly, not just for the story, but for the mere enjoyment of reading his prose. I enjoyed Nine Stories & Franny ans Zooey the most of all. I've heard that he never stopped writing, and that he has quite a few works that have yet to be published. Hopefully those works will see the light of day now.
on “J.D. Salinger Dead at 91” ↗…reading of English lit) and to read short, relatively easy "literary" works that are more recent. Vonnegut's way at the easy end. Maybe try Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby or his short stories? Salinger's Nine Stories? I'm not sure—at this point I have trouble judging what's approachable. I'd make a terrible teacher of literature. Lots of things kinda work this way. Jazz and "classical" music usually take some work…
on “Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?” ↗I reread JD Salinger - Nine Stories. Not sure what I can say about it that hasn’t been said. I had a little more familiarity with contemporary short stories this time, so I was more struck by structure. The way he plays contrasting scenes…
on “Ask HN: Best books read in 2022” ↗