I went into this book thinking it was about lesbian women.

It's not.

In fact, Zooey is a man.

This book is the type of book that as soon as I closed it, I wanted to pick it back up and start it over again. Franny and Zooey are sister and brother from the large Glass family. Franny, a college student, is struggling with the meaning of life and is depressed. Like many, she has gone home to her family and turned to religion to help cope with her depression. Zooey is probably the last person you would think would have any insights that would help Franny. He's sarcastic, cynical, blunt and somewhat hostile. The story really is a dialogue by and large between Franny and Zooey. The book is all about their relationship, but it touches upon a lot of fascinating philosophical subjects such as religion, ego, the meaning of life, etc. If you go into reading it as if it were a play, I think your appreciation for it will be greater.

Truly thought provoking, timeless and fresh at the same time, and really made me a) want to read more Salinger and b) want to re-read this tale which may end up as five stars in the end. ( )

The very short novel Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger is in actuality a short story and a novella which were originally published separately but in 1961 were put together as published as one. The book focuses on sister Franny and brother Zooey, the two youngest members of the colorful Jewish/Irish Glass family.

The short story, entitled “Franny” tells a story about Franny going to visit her boyfriend at his university. Franny is going through a difficult time as she has become disenchanted with academia and she is questioning the importance of a college education as well as the selfishness and falseness that she sees all around her. Her boyfriend, Lane is rather obtuse and much more concerned with his affairs than in trying to help Franny. The novella, Zooey, takes place very shortly after while Franny is still in the throes of a breakdown. The mother is very concerned and approaches Zooey, in a very amusing bathroom scene, and ask him to help Franny. He does try but fails in his first attempt. He then phones her and pretends to be one of the other brothers, she eventually sees through this ruse, but they continue to talk and Franny appears to be more peaceful when the book ends.

I have to admit that it took the second story before I fully understood that Franny was having an emotional crisis. I thought that she was pregnant and having difficulty dealing with this. Apparently I was not alone in this misconception, even Salinger’s publishers thought that the short story was about a college girl facing up to pregnancy. I also have to admit that I didn’t fully understand what the author was hoping to accomplish with these stories although he does seem to stress that life can become meaningless and that religion can help in engaging one’s devotion in a meaningful way. ( )

If you like his other Glass family stories, then you'll probably enjoy the two in this volume. I preferred the first story ("Franny") over the second, but the second picks up where the first leaves off, so the book is almost like a novel. ( )

I read Franny and Zooey in school; I think I was about 13 or 14, and it must have been on a reading list in English class; I am sure we didn't read it as a class or I would have understood it properly. As it was, I was totally seduced by it and wanted to be Franny.
Some 55 years later I am Zooey, or some aspects of him, particularly his cynicism, but what I'm not sure he realized (though I am sure Salinger did) was that he tended to be exactly what he despised. But maybe he did.
There is so much about the book left unsaid that it's almost annoying, but the description of the time and the caricatures of people were pretty much spot on. I think I would really like to know if Salinger himself was as affected as his characterizations.
This is no kind of review but I can't do better with it. I will say that I know why it's no longer on reading lists in high school - I can't imagine any of the teenagers I know being able to relate to it in any way. ( )

This was very popular w/ the literate oddballs when I was in high school. I still see Salinger's name pop up here on GoodReads amongst my younger friends so I reckon he's still popular. That's a bit odd to me b/c I so strongly associate him w/ a particular time. What was this about? A brother & sister living w/ their mom & the good-natured squabbling amongst them? No wonder I related - except for the good-natured part. ( )