| ||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to Ł0.25
Trade in For Esmé - with Love and Squalor: And Other Stories for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to Ł0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Plus, get an extra Ł5 when you trade in books worth Ł10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
For Esmé With Love and Squalor includes two of Salinger's most famous and critically acclaimed stories, and helped to establish him as one of the contemporary literary greats. The title story recounts a Sergeant's meeting with a young girl before being sent into combat. When it was first published in The New Yorker in 1950 it was an immediate sensation and prompted a flood of readers' fan-letters.
'A Perfect Day for Bananafish' is the first of the author's stories to feature the Glass family, the loveable and idiosyncratic family who would appear in much of Salinger's later fiction. A haunting and unforgettable piece of writing, the story follows the eldest sibling, Seymour Glass, and his wife, Muriel, as they embark on an ill-fated honeymoon in Florida . . .
About the Author
J D Salinger was born in 1919. He grew up in New York City, and wrote short stories from an early age, but his breakthrough came in 1948 with the publication in The New Yorker of 'A Perfect Day for Bananafish'. The Catcher in the Rye was his first and only novel, published in 1951. It remains one of the most translated, taught and reprinted texts, and has sold some 65 million copies. It was followed by three other books of short stories and novellas, the most recent of which was published in 1963. He lives in Cornish, New Hampshire.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
These nine short stories will appeal to those who enjoyed the dry observations, the grim resistance to adulthood and the honesty that encapsulated The Catcher in the Rye. Far less well-known, this collection is partly a reflection on an American society coming to grips with the aftermath of war; its characters include those who have been traumatised by conflict and those who have suffered at home through the absence of loved ones. More than that, Salinger's tales try to dig a little deeper under the superficial layer of East Coast society and ask where the distinctions between madness and innocence lie in a fractured community. His adults are often verging on lunacy or have a serious character flaw, while his children are frequently precocious, wildly intelligent and seemingly more worldy-wise than their parents: the clash between the two tends to cause confusion on both sides. Women are promiscuous, men are like children, children are like seers; each of these stories tells of a topsy-turvy world populated by figures wrestling within themselves for something more satisfying than their present existence. A brief collection but a valuable one; sometimes frustratingly enigmatic but with some excellent character sketches.
29 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A must-have book for any true Salinger fan, "For Esme...", provides the reader with ten short stories of the highest calibre. You'll laugh and cry at the tragi-comic nature of the Glass family in tales such as "A perfect day for Bananafish", marvel at Salinger's fascinating autobiographical touch in "Love and Squalor", and turn each page in fervent anticipation in his more imaginative tales, such as "Teddy". One recommendation I would make to anyone who is just stepping into Salinger's world is to dip into "Raise high the roof beam, carpenters, Seymour: an introduction, and "Franny and Zooey", before you start "Esme", as it will explain a lot about the Glass family saga...
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This collection of short stories showcases the talent of JD Salinger at its very finest.
The stories are vividly and beautifully told, emotion is understated but tangible. The title story 'For Esme with love and squalor' is quite simply one of the most unforgettable stories I have ever read - it is infused with powerful emotion but also gentle humour. It's about a brief meeting between a soldier and a young girl - he's looking for simplicity and purity in a world gone mad, she's hoping to appear mature and worldly (but comes across as even more innocent and naive as a result). This chance encounter sustains the soldier later when his world is falling apart from the after-effects of the war.
The other stories are just as striking - particularly The Laughing Man and Teddy - they read simply, but pack a punch which is difficult to describe. That's the genius of it all.
The stories are vividly and beautifully told, emotion is understated but tangible. The title story 'For Esme with love and squalor' is quite simply one of the most unforgettable stories I have ever read - it is infused with powerful emotion but also gentle humour. It's about a brief meeting between a soldier and a young girl - he's looking for simplicity and purity in a world gone mad, she's hoping to appear mature and worldly (but comes across as even more innocent and naive as a result). This chance encounter sustains the soldier later when his world is falling apart from the after-effects of the war.
The other stories are just as striking - particularly The Laughing Man and Teddy - they read simply, but pack a punch which is difficult to describe. That's the genius of it all.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Salinger at his best
I started my encounter with Salinger as most people do, through his Catcher in the rye, and I liked it, but I wasn't crazy about it. Read more
Published 4 months ago by steelo
Heartbreakingly good
The stories in this collection are gems. I'm re-re-reading them, trying to discover what precisely makes them so wonderful. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Alison Leathart
Short stories full of charm
'she was the type of person who for a ringing phone would drop precisely nothing'. Salanger creates intrigue with such simplicity. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Solaman Seldon
maybe even better than catcher in the rye
One of my favourite books, this FANTASTIC collection of short stories is in turn tragic and hilarious, notably in 'the laughing man'. Read more
Published 16 months ago by sally tarbox
JD's best
This book is amazing... it covers such a range of concepts, and people. The charactors in each of the stories are so intense. Definately worth while reading, for anyone.
Published on 17 Oct 2003 by "angel_pie"
Excellent
After having read 'The Catcher in the Rye', which instantly became my favourite twentieth century book, I picked this up in a second hand bookshop and it turned out to be an... Read more
Published on 21 Sep 2000
Some of the best short stories ever written
I loved this book - it's my favourite work by J.D. Salinger, nevermind what they say about "Catcher in the Rye". Read more
Published on 19 April 2000
Moving
No schmaltz; this is the real thing. The title story kicks ass, if you don't cry the publisher will give you your money back...
Published on 9 Oct 1999
all history now
It's been a long time since I even glanced at this collection but I remember one particular story concerning a mail-order art course teacher. It worked. Read more
Published on 9 Jun 1999
A+
A wonderful book by a great American writer.
Published on 23 May 1999
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192198663_.gif){kind=small}
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
