Franny and Zooey discussion

This is a lecture from a course in Yale University:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=toql5j...

wow!

I read Franny and Zooey after The Catcher in the Rye and I really wanted to like it. Salinger gives us little glimpses of a back-story about these siblings. One senses that Franny is in trouble, but for me this story remained too much between the lines.

Thanks for the link. I saved it under "favorites" so I can watch it at my leisure. How incredible is that - I can hear a Yale lecturer!

Looks like I'm gonna have to re-read Franny and Zooey!

I read this book and I didn't like it, in my opinion Salinger was a one hit wonder who characters are like recycled beats of each other

This is another book I liked when I was young and now that I'm no longer young, not that crazy about it.

This was the book where I discovered that where I presumably identified with one character when I was in my teens, when I read it in my fifties I saw it more from the mother's viewpoint.

Age! What a bummer!

Thanks for the link!

Thank you for the link--it's an excellent discussion of FRANNY AND ZOOEY that really illuminates many of the central issues of the fascinating novel.

For some reason, the novel seems to have confused and bemused many, if not most, of its American readers.

A good feature of this lecture is the way the professor emphasises the positive elements in the religious / mystical vision Salinger dramatises in FRANNY AND ZOOEY. This vision is deeply negative, as Salinger implicates it in Seymour's suicide, but the Yale lecturer has convincingly demonstrated that it has powerfully life-affirming elements as well.

The lecture is well worth viewing, thank you for posting it.

this link looks really cool I also saved it in my bookmarks so I can watch it whenever ...didn't go to yale but always wanted to now it is almost like i can be in the class without actually going to yale and paying the tuition

Jan C wrote: "This is another book I liked when I was young and now that I'm no longer young, not that crazy about it.

This was the book where I discovered that where I presumably identified with one characte..."

I read this book again this past summer at the age of 57 and I couldn't have loved a book more. I believe it is his masterpiece and actually quite timely given the state of religion and belief systems prevalent in our world today.

M. Sarki--I agree with you. I read it in 2008 at the age of 48 and came to the same conclusion. It's a brilliant book and should be widely read . . . having said that, for some reason Salinger does present the mystical experience in a negative light, given Seymour's suicide . . . but every reader can come to their own conclusion about the meaning of the mystical journey in their own life, and Salinger does something wonderful in his dramatisation of what mysticism really is . . .

Chris wrote: "M. Sarki--I agree with you. I read it in 2008 at the age of 48 and came to the same conclusion. It's a brilliant book and should be widely read . . . having said that, for some reason Salinger do..."

Couldn't agree more. Love the analogy of the "fat lady". Worth every word, and then some. Much to learn from this book even if you think you are too old. Poppycock.

...Zooey tells Franny that one time when Zooey was on "It's a Wise Child," Seymour told him to shine his shoes. Since it was a radio show and the studio audiences were stupid, Zooey did not want to. But, Seymour told him to do it for the "Fat Lady."

Yes, the significance of the "fat lady" is a point focused on, and discussed illuminatingly, in the Yale lecture that is posted at the beginning of this thread . . . sounds like you and the prof are on the same page about it . . .

Chris wrote: "Yes, the significance of the "fat lady" is a point focused on, and discussed illuminatingly, in the Yale lecture that is posted at the beginning of this thread . . . sounds like you and the prof ar..."

I watched about three minutes of the lecture this morning before my nine week old puppy demanded my full attention. I plan on watching it all soon as I am able to.

Franny & Zooey is my all time favorite book. I first read it when I was around 14 and have read it several times since. I guess I like my version better, what was going on in my head rather than learning that the dial tone had some significance. I liked the video, but I still like my feelings about the book more. But, thank you, for sharing the video.

This book gave me so much more than just the storyline or the supposedly 'simplistic' conversations. It gave me courage in who I am and that there is nothing wrong with having a mental crisis. I'm very sorry for people who cannot understand the value of this book, but for me it was pure gold. Definitely one of my favourite books and clearly a must-read.

Judith wrote: "This book gave me so much more than just the storyline or the supposedly 'simplistic' conversations. It gave me courage in who I am and that there is nothing wrong with having a mental crisis. I'm ..."

I could not agree more. Perhaps aging and having more life experiences helps to understand and appreciate this book. There is also the possibility that some younger persons are already older souls.

One of the few books I've read that deals withe prayer and so-called "obsession" in a serious way. I agree with Judith here that it is sad that some people cannot feel the value of this wonderful book.

M. wrote: "I could not agree more. Perhaps aging and having more life experiences helps to understand and appreciate this book. There is also the possibility that some younger persons are already older souls."

I'll take it that I have a bit of the old soul in me then because when I read this book at seventeen I was totally plunged into the story. I felt so at home with the workings of JD Salingers mind. Though there were times when I had to grope for things between the lines, but still it was like I knew in my heart what he was talking about. I've reread it so many times in the last two decades but my appreciation of the book has not diminished one bit.

Dindin wrote: "M. wrote: "I could not agree more. Perhaps aging and having more life experiences helps to understand and appreciate this book. There is also the possibility that some younger persons are already o..."

It is a dandy.

Thanks for the link. I had a contemporary novel class that included a couple of the authors on the playlist that this is a part of. We did different books so this is a great summer reading challenge.

Crazy how much this book does in so little space. I believe the settings are: train station, restaurant, bath tub, living room.

If nothing else, Salinger is a master of conversation, both between characters and a character with his/her own mind.

I have to give Seymour: An Introduction another try. Every time I reread a Salinger story (other than Catcher, ironically enough) I seem to warm up to it a bit more.