Franny Y Zooey/ Franny and Zooey

These are the kind of mental circles one goes in when they don't appreciate the hard-earned simple wisdom of the saccharine and sentimental. I say that not to dismiss what's here but just to make clear that I have a fundamental disconnect with the struggle described, especially as someone whose religious interest has never been particularly theistic. I moved past the feeling that people are self-interested fakes with no real insight into the world young enough that I never really tried to build intellectual and spiritual supports around that feeling, yknow what I mean? If there was one thing being a young kid exposed to 4chan early actually did for me, it was shuffling me through that stage much earlier than I would have otherwise.

That said, I really love the alternate approach to that mindset we get. Rather than exploring what drives the emotions which create its immature form as in The Catcher in the Rye, Franny and Zooey tackles the grown-up, intellectual, well-reasoned form of the same thing. It goes "You know what, lots of people do suck and lots of what we do is empty and you're right to be frustrated by that. But not everything is like that, and you're doing a disservice to all the good that is out there and to Christ himself if you lump it all in together and shun all that is good yet imperfect." Growth often involves learning not to let our grand observations on the universe override the individuals around us, tough as it may be.

Salinger's dialogue is perfect. Of course it is.

I love Salinger's way of writing. That way of seeing beauty in the saddest things of life is what I find so compelling about him. His view of the world is fabolous and unique.

I found this book really sad in some ways I didn't found in his previous books. Because it's so heart-breaking to read the aftermath of Seymour's suicide. How it affected the family, how it brought them down.

I think Franny's a good character, so broken by the world, and yet so beautiful. But the one I loved the most was Zooey, with his way of seeing things, his acid humor and how he doesn't seem to mind talking a LOT. Besides, this character appears not to feel anything, but those people are often the ones who feel the most. I think I loved Zooey because he reminds me of how easily everything can go down and that realistic way of seeing this, with all the pesimism it brings.

All in all, it's a beautiful book. The story is so simple yet so complicated. So sad yet so beautiful. Unforgettable. Beautiful.