I truly enjoyed this novel, if you can even call it a novel. One thing I have always loved about Salinger is how real his characters are, even when they are completely fucked up in the head. Franny's self doubt and Zooeys pompous attitude make for intriguing interactions with everyone they come in contact with. The whole of the Glass family is fascinating, if not tragic, making me want to delve deeper into their story. ( )

Not my favorite Salinger and not the best place to start, it's nevertheless a fantastic novel continuing on the Eastern and philosophical themes of Nine Stories. ( )

This being one of my husband's all-time favorite books, I really wanted to love it more than I did. The writing is clearly brilliant, the characters are some of the most vivid I have ever read, and the heavily italicized dialogue had wonderful rhythms. But the themes...good god (no pun intended), the themes! Too much religious mumbo jumbo substituting for actual--for lack of a better word--stuff happening. And I was relieved to note after a little research that even John Updike in 1961 thought there was the suggestion, intended or not, that Franny was pregnant, (NY Times) and yet, clearly this never gets addressed in the second story, though I kept waiting for it. Perhaps I'm too much of a heathen to really understand this book, but the spiritual themes felt terribly forced on otherwise interesting characters. ( )

Nine Stories may be his greatest work, but this is my favorite of Salinger’s books. The religious themes can be a little heavy-handed, but these two short stories about Franny and Zooey Glass, two young adults trying to recover from being precocious children, are about as well-written as fiction can be. ( )

This is one of Salinger's best. I absolutely love his stories about the Glass family. Seymour and Franny are my favorites. ( )