For Esmé - with Love and Squalor

by J.D. Salinger

It recounts a sergeant's meeting with a young girl before being sent into combat in World War II.

Genres: Short Stories, Classics, Fiction, 20th Century, Literature, American, School

175 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1953

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Works, most notably novel The Catcher in the Rye (1951), of American writer Jerome David Salinger often concern troubled, sensitive adolescents.

People well know this author for his reclusive nature. He published his last original work in 1965 and gave his last interview in 1980. Reared in city of New York, Salinger began short stories in secondary school and published several stories in the early 1940s before serving in World War II. In 1948, he published the critically acclaimed story "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" in The New Yorker, his subsequent home magazine. He released an immediate popular success. His depiction of adolescent alienation and loss of innocence in the protagonist Holden Caulfield especially influenced adolescent readers. Widely read and controversial, sells a quarter-million copies a year.

The success led to public attention and scrutiny: reclusive, he published new work less frequently. He followed with a short story collection, Nine Stories (1953), of a novella and a short story, Franny and Zooey (1961), and a collection of two novellas, Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction (1963). His last published work, a novella entitled "Hapworth 16, 1924", appeared in The New Yorker on June 19, 1965.

Afterward, Salinger struggled with unwanted attention, including a legal battle in the 1980s with biographer Ian Hamilton. In the late 1990s, Joyce Maynard, a close ex-lover, and Margaret Salinger, his daughter, wrote and released his memoirs. In 1996, a small publisher announced a deal with Salinger to publish "Hapworth 16, 1924" in book form, but the ensuing publicity indefinitely delayed the release.

Another writer used one of his characters, resulting in copyright infringement; he filed a lawsuit against this writer and afterward made headlines around the globe in June 2009. Salinger died of natural causes at his home in Cornish, New Hampshire.

Reviews

[Margaret M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having been put off reading ‘A Catcher in the Rye’, I thought this was a good way to sample J.D. Salinger, and what a thoroughly satisfying collection of short stories to ruminate and reflect on. To appraise, commend, and to even reason with. A book where all the characters and their stories felt real – too real which makes this collection all the more unforgettable.

A truly sobering read but a triumph of a book for its exploration of the flawed human mind portrayed alongside real and powerful themes, accompanied by some superb characters to deliver many hard-hitting, important, but also simple messages.

In each of the nine stories, no emotion is spared, no sentiment is over or under stated, as the trials and tribulations of life are laid bare in simple texts with some strong and poignant themes running through all of them.

My favourites are 'For Esmé - with Love and Squalor', the story the book takes its title from. The most disturbing was the first story – 'A Perfect Day for Bananafish' which left me a little shocked at the ending. Also wonderful are ‘Down at the Dinghy’ about a mother trying to coach her son in dealing with fear, and ‘Teddy’ which explores multiple encounters onboard a luxury liner. All superbly written.

My least favourite was ‘The Laughing Man’ and ‘Just before the war with Eskimos’, mainly because the ending felt flat in both.

Each story is unique with the constant call for awareness, understanding and appreciation of the human mind, the internal conflict many wrestle with and how innocence can see beyond the furs and glitz to focus on what really matters – kindness and understanding.

The themes are endless, depression, suicide, loneliness, death, infidelity, greed, PTSD, love, and highlights the consequences of not seeing the obvious signs or not looking beyond yourself. For example, the wife in A Perfect Day for Bananafish jokes about her husband’s solemn mood not seeing the suicidal behaviour nor hearing the desperation in his words.

In ‘For Esme – with love and Squalor’ Esme is a young girl who meets an American soldier before he goes off to war. Despondent and battle weary the soldier has one of the most innocent but affecting conversations which helps pull him back from his current depressive state. The child then gifts her father’s watch and writes that this is on loan to help the sergeant through the war. Full of hope, innocence, touching and written with such simplicity and beauty.

However, this book will take you on an emotional journey as the reader is set to experience a fusion of hope and hopelessness, sympathy, empathy, and despondency. Also kindness, and generosity of spirit, and even a sense of frustration at the many self-destructive and / or selfish acts. Most of all, we shine a light on ‘choice, understanding, acceptance and kindness’ and what a beautiful way to explore these themes through 9 short stories. Brilliant.

[Kushagri · Rating 5 out of 5]

A poignant and impactful short story about the trauma and psychological impact of war that unfolds through the memories of an American World War II veteran, recounting a chance encounter between him and a precocious young girl who made an impact on him, Esmé. It leaves the reader to ponder on the essence of human connection, love, loss and power of a fleeting moment, in the backdrop of conflict.

[Natalie (CuriousReader) · Rating 5 out of 5]

2019 These stories are filled with heart ache, humor, tiredness, hopelessness, and some characteristics I cannot quite pinpoint. Opening strong with A Perfect Day for Bananafish - possibly the best short story I've read, full-stop, we're constantly invited into a little glimpse of sadness in private lives. But the feeling is complicated, mixed with happiness at the little things, curiosity about the world or people in it, with human connection. Some of these stories walk the line between tragic and funny so well - Uncle Wiggily in Conneticut and Pretty Mouth and Green My Eyes in particular. Some capture that timeless and yet so utterly fleeting time of childishness in a person - a state of mind rather than an age - so fragile and often at the brink seen here through the children of The Laughing Man, For Esme, Down at the Dinghy and in some respects Teddy too. Several stories touch at the effects of the war, on ex-soldiers and on civilians alike - the shadows of war and death hangs over many of these characters in their life-turning decisions and in their daily lives. Not only is this a book of wonderful stories, but it's a collection of such fine craftsmanship in totality as to make it an absolute must read for any lover of the short story form. Again, wonderful!

2018: I still feel like there is nothing quite like Salinger's short stories, in all the literature I've ever read. It's not just his ability to capture a fleeting moment, or his wonderful construction of dialogue, but the way he completely throws you into a situation - not caring whether you get your footing in the setting, or with the characters's lives, or not - before it is over and you're left with your mouth hanging open, not ready to let go. It's this feeling of always being right smack-dab in a person's life, being given a window into their private moments and contrasting public behavior, as if you're not quite meant to be there but yet you are, eavesdropping. And then having to leave each group of characters, each story, before there is an end in sight - as if this story keeps on going, without you, rather than remaining static, as most book's endings seem to do. It's clear Salinger really enjoys writing young characters, as children frequent these stories and are often the driving force within them. He also seems to have a particular sweet spot in drawing the interaction between adults and children, without any sentimentality. "For Esme - With Love and Squalor" or "Nine Stories" is just as good as I remembered it, and in some respects - even better, upon this second reading of it. How can so many of Salinger's stories move me to tears in such a short span of time and space? And without really understanding why I am so moved?

2014: There's something about Salinger's writing that really speaks to me. As was my experience with The Catcher in the Rye, I'll read something and then after taking a step back I'll realize how much of the story really sticks with me, and how much I like his way of writing. This is a short story collection, and definitely my favorite so far (haven't read many at all). I liked every single one, some I liked more than others (especially liked A perfect day for Banana fish and For Esme - with love and squalor), but even the ones I found less enjoyable to read - I ended up liking because of the way they stuck with me. I feel like what makes Salinger's writing so good is how he captures the everyday and mundane, but makes it into such an interesting piece, one that really grabs that single moment. Like taking a photograph. If that makes any sense at all. Bottom line, I loved to read this and I'm very much looking forward to reading his other two books as well as collecting them all and eventually rereading them.

[Miroslav Maričić · Rating 5 out of 5]

Селинџер је један од оних аутора који су писали мало, а рекли много, задивили многе и ушли у круг оних бесмртних у који мали број уђе. Помињање Ловца у Ражи углавном, као ваљда и свако уметничко дело, изазива опречне коментаре. Некима је Ловац изванредан, омиљен, док неки нису опчињени, не налазе разлог за одушевљење, али не постоји нико ко није чуо за Селинџера, његовог Ловца у житу и једног од познатијих књижевних јунака Холдена Колфилда. Холден је један од оних јунака који су свеприсутни међу нама, онај јунак са којим смо се борили у себи, са којим смо одрастали, прерастали и са којим смо делили мисли, жеље и заблуде. Али Холден није сам, није Холден једини који је изашао из Селинџерове главе, већ су ту и деца породице Глас, они који представљају јунаке свих осталих Селинџерових дела. Читајући биографију писца и уживајући у његовим делима, делује као да је, у бројним описима своји јунака, њиховим психолошким профилима и описаним догађајима, описивао себе и оне ситне унутрашње трептаје који нас одређују као личност. Један сам од оних којима је Ловац у житу једна од омиљених књига, а Холден један од ликова који се не заборављају и дуго је времена прошло док се нисам одлучио да прочитам још нешто од Селинџера. Френи и Зуи, Симор, Високо подигните кровне греде тесари, а некако између свих њих и За Есме, књигу од девет прича. За Есме је књига која је са мном ишла на посао, на излете, у шетње, посете оцу, она која је чула моје мисли и разонодила ме у тенуцима доколице, свуда је ишла, али у кућу није улазила. Присуствовали смо заједно паузама између новонасталих школских група намењених за дезинфекцију, разговорима других људи, малим одморима деце о којима и сама пише, њиховим осмесима, љубавима, школским успесима и стрепњама, заједно смо слушали блуз док су испијане кафе у омиљеном ми месту за медитацију, испуњавале је део намењен за најважнији део човека, слободно време. Приче и приповетке не читам често, и мали је број који ме је одушевио и остао у памћењу: Лазаревић, Глишић, Ишигуро и од скора Селинџер и његова дивна Есме.
За Есме: девет прича се састоји, као што и сам наслов каже, од девет прича: Перфектан дан за банане-рибе, Ујка Вигли у Конектикату, Пре почетка рата са Ескимима, Човек који се смеје, Доле код чамца, За Есме – С љубављу и мучнином, Лепа уста и зелене ми очи, Плави период De Daumier-Smita, Теди. У тим причама главни јунаци, протагонисти или бар споредни ликови су деца. Деца која су услед одређених дешавања, сопстевног стања ума и тренутка у коме су се налазила представљена као особе далеко зрелије од доба у коме се налазе. Ипак она нису изгубила своју искреност, невиност, маштовитост, али и фантастичну способност перцепције и она нас управо, тим својим главним квалитетима, уче животу и како да се чистог срца односимо према свету који нас окружује. Под велом хумора, разиграности, безбрижних дијалога и дечјих, невиних мисли скривене су животне филозофије, смрт, ратне трауме, друштвени сукоби и религиозна стремљења, запажања и искуства. Дијалозима Селинџер фантастично описује стање ума својих јунака, приближавајући нам на тај начин њихов карактер, њихове симпатије и тегобе са којима се у току живота суочавају. Поред текста који нам остаје у власништво да га ишчитавамо колико год пута пожелимо, Селинџер нам је у наслеђе оставио и мисли које долазе накнадно после читања књиге. Оставио је Есме и њено жељено писмо, замишљене другаре који скидају своје чизмице, радознале банана рибе, свеприсутног Симора и Тедија поврх свега. Оног Тедија који нам говори да остатке јабуке логике морамо испљунути како бисмо прогледали и видели стваран свет око нас, како бисмо одгајили децу која нису клонови нас и наших предрасуда, како бисмо свету дали своју имагинацију и како не бисмо живели у Морфеусовом Матриксу, привиду среће и радости наших малих и бедних животића, док их иза магле незнања чека лепота Бога.

„¬'Сећате се оне јабуке коју је Адам појео у Еденском врту, о којој се прича у библији?' упитао је. 'Знате ли шта је било у тој јабуци? Логика и сав тај интелектуални сос. То је све што је било у њој. И тако- а то је суштина свега- шта треба да се уради, човек треба само да те ствари избаци из желуца ако жели да види свет онакав какав заиста јесте.' (...) 'Невоља је у томе', рекао је Теди, 'што већина људи не жели да види предмете какви заиста јесту. Они чак и не желе да престану да се непрестано рађају и умиру. Они стално желе само нова тела, уместо да престану с тим и остану поред Бога, где је заиста лепо.' Неко време је размишљао. 'Никад нисам видео такав чопор јабукождера.' Рекао је и одмахнуо главом.“

[Traveller · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story gives a glimpse into how savagely "off the mark" much of psychology was in the first half of the twentieth century, not that it is a precise science now - the attempted delineation and categorization of a thing as subtle, varied and complex as the human psyche is doomed to fail at least a bit, in the end.

The reason for my remark about the potential damage that the knowledge of psychology that was available and prevalent at the time, could do, relates to the part of the story that deals with a man who sustains PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ) in World War II, and in the story there is a comment from someone studying psychology saying that nobody can "have a nervous breakdown" (they didn't even have a term for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder ) just from taking part in war, which is of course completely untrue.

It took a long time for PTSD to be recognized as something that most people sustain from experiencing trauma - people who sustained it in the past tended to be ridiculed as being "sissies" or cowards, and of course, labeling these people as such just made matters worse for them, and made it harder for them to recover from the trauma.

Modern readers might find it a bit strange that no eyebrow is lifted regarding a young girl of 13 forming a friendship with and chatting unchaperoned with, a young married solder, but I suppose things were different back then in wartime and without the quick access that the internet can bring. I think a contemporary version would work better if Esme were male and Charles female. If that were the case, I think I would have considered four and a half or five stars. Amazing what a huge change in culture just a few years of progress can bring.

[leynes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Currently on a Salinger kick. After absolutely loving The Catcher in the Rye last year, I vowed to read all of Salinger's work. I was honestly surprised to find that the man hasn't even written that much. Four slim volumes. Totally doable. So, I'm reading through his entire body of work in 2026.

For Esmé – with Love and Squalor was published in 1953 and contains nine short stories. Some of them I absolutely loved ("A Perfect Day for Bananafish", "De Daumier-Smith's Blue Period"), while others left me a little more unimpressed. But all in all, it is undeniable that Salinger is a damn good fiction writer. Even when a story didn't quite work for me, I could appreciate the way he builds characters and, especially, how much he manages to say in such little space.

The collection opens with one of Salinger's most famous stories, "A Perfect Day for Bananafish". We meet Muriel Glass, a young woman staying at a Florida resort with her mother. She spends most of her time on the phone, discussing clothes, other people, and her husband Seymour, who has recently returned from the war and is apparently behaving rather strangely. Seymour, meanwhile, is on the beach with a little girl named Sybil Carpenter. Unlike the adults around him, he actually engages with the child. He tells her about the mysterious bananafish: creatures that swim into a hole filled with bananas, eat so much that they become too fat to escape, and eventually die.

The story is playful and strange on the surface, but there is something deeply unsettling underneath it. Seymour's interaction with Sybil is tender and imaginative, while his interactions with the adults around him are strained and disconnected. Eventually, Seymour returns to his hotel room. And then, without much warning, he shoots himself. It's a brutal ending, especially because Salinger doesn't spell everything out for us. We are left to piece together Seymour's psychological state ourselves.

"Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut" follows Eloise, a wealthy suburban housewife, who receives her old friend Mary Jane for a visit. While they drink and talk, Eloise begins reminiscing about her college days, particularly a man named Walt Glass. Walt was someone Eloise genuinely loved, but she ultimately chose a different life. She married Lew, a man who could provide the financial security and social stability she wanted, while Walt later died during the war. The memories become increasingly uncomfortable as Eloise realizes that the life she built — the house, the husband, the child, the suburban comfort — hasn't actually made her happy. It's a story about regret and all the lives we could have lived, but also about the consequences of choosing security over love.

In "Just Before the War with the Eskimos", we meet Ginnie Mannox, a teenage girl at a private school. Ginnie is irritated with her classmate Selena Graff, who repeatedly borrows money from her for taxi rides and never pays her back. Eventually, the two girls end up at the house of Franklin Graff, Selena's older brother.

"Look at 'em," he said. "Goddam fools."
"Who?" said Ginnie.
"I don't know. Anybody.

Franklin is a deeply troubled young man who has recently returned from the war. He talks obsessively about his experiences, makes bizarre jokes, and behaves in ways that make Ginnie uncomfortable. Despite this, she begins to see something vulnerable beneath his erratic behavior. His conversations reveal someone who has been psychologically damaged and who doesn't really know how to return to normal life. And I think that's one of the things I found most interesting about this collection: Salinger repeatedly puts ordinary, sometimes almost trivial teenage concerns next to the much heavier realities of adulthood.

"The Laughing Man" is narrated by an unnamed former member of the Comanche Club, a group of boys in New York. Their leader, the Chief, takes them on various adventures around the city and tells them a serialized adventure story about a masked criminal called the Laughing Man. At first, the story seems like a fun little adventure tale. But gradually, the narrator begins to realize that the fictional story is somehow mirroring the Chief's own life. The line between the boys' imaginative world and the much more complicated adult world around them starts to blur, and what initially feels like harmless escapism becomes something much darker.

"Down at the Dinghy" focuses on a little boy named Lionel, who has hidden himself down at the family's boathouse after overhearing something that deeply upset him. His mother, Boo Boo Glass, eventually goes to find him. The source of Lionel's distress is particularly painful: he has heard a family employee use an antisemitic slur about his father. Lionel is too young to fully understand all the implications of what he's heard, but he understands enough to know that something is wrong. Boo Boo handles the situation with remarkable tenderness. Rather than lecturing him or forcing him to explain himself, she meets him where he is emotionally. She plays with him, talks to him, and slowly gets him to come back home.

The titular story, "For Esmé – with Love and Squalor", is probably the emotional heart of the collection. The narrator, an American soldier, meets a young English girl named Esmé while stationed in England during World War II. Esmé is intelligent, precocious, slightly awkward and incredibly sincere. Their meeting is brief, but she leaves an impression on him and gives him a watch that belonged to her father.

Then the story jumps forward. The narrator has returned from the war, and the tone changes completely. He is suffering from severe psychological damage. He is exhausted, isolated, unable to function normally and barely capable of communicating with other people. Then he receives a package from Esmé. Her gesture connects him with the person he was before the war and gives him a tiny thread back to the world of human connection. And that's where the title really comes into play: the story puts love and squalor next to each other. There is the kindness and innocence of Esmé, and there is the ugliness and psychological devastation of war. One doesn't magically erase the other, but that small act of kindness gives the narrator something to hold onto.

"Pretty Mouth and Green My Eyes" is a fascinating little story about two friends, Arthur and Lee. Arthur is worried because his wife, Joan, hasn't come home. Lee tries to reassure him, but we gradually discover that Joan is actually with Lee. The entire story is basically a long conversation in which the truth is constantly being avoided, disguised and manipulated. It's uncomfortable in a very different way from the war stories, because Salinger isn't really interested in dramatic revelations here. He's interested in the lies people tell each other — and themselves — in order to keep their lives functioning.

In "De Daumier-Smith's Blue Period", the narrator, Jean de Daumier-Smith, travels to Montreal after his mother's death. He becomes involved in an art-related correspondence course and eventually takes a job as an instructor. Jean is eccentric, arrogant, theatrical and completely convinced of his own artistic genius. He begins corresponding with his students and becomes particularly interested in a young nun named Sister Irma. What starts as an eccentric story about art gradually turns into something much more spiritual. Jean is forced to confront his own arrogance and eventually realizes that his grandiose ideas about art and himself are less important than genuine human connection and compassion. I really loved this one. There is something about Salinger's characters being forced to look past their own carefully constructed ideas of themselves that I find incredibly compelling.

The final story, "Teddy", is about Teddy McArdle, a sixteen-year-old boy traveling on a ship with his parents. Teddy is unusually philosophical and claims to have memories of previous lives. He speaks calmly about reincarnation, Eastern philosophy, meditation and the nature of consciousness. His parents and the other adults around him don't really know what to make of him. Is Teddy genuinely enlightened? Is he simply an incredibly strange teenager? Is there even a difference between the two? Salinger doesn't give us an easy answer. The ending is deliberately unsettling. Teddy predicts that his younger sister will push him into the swimming pool, and the final scene strongly implies that his prediction may come true. And I think "Teddy" is actually a fitting story to end the collection on, because the tension between children and adults is one of the things that stood out to me most throughout the entire book.

Again and again, Salinger puts children and young people next to adults who are damaged, dissatisfied, emotionally disconnected or simply incapable of seeing things clearly. The children aren't necessarily wiser, but they often possess a kind of sincerity that the adults have lost. Sybil can simply play with Seymour. Lionel needs someone to take his hurt seriously. Esmé approaches the narrator with genuine curiosity and kindness. Even Teddy, bizarre as he is, seems to have stepped outside the ordinary rules by which the adults around him live.

And then there's war. It's impossible to read this collection without noticing how heavily World War II hangs over it. Several of these stories deal directly or indirectly with people who have returned from the war carrying psychological wounds that nobody around them seems able to see or understand.

Salinger isn't particularly interested in depicting war itself. He's interested in what happens after. What happens when the soldiers come home? How do you return to ordinary life after experiencing something that ordinary life cannot accommodate? How do you reconnect with other people when you no longer feel like you belong among them? Seymour, Franklin and the narrator of "For Esmé" all give us different versions of that question.

And I think that's what makes the collection work as a whole, even though the individual stories vary quite a lot for me. Some hit harder than others, some I found more memorable than others, but there is a very clear Salinger DNA running through all of them: alienation, innocence, adulthood, trauma, the difficulty of genuine connection and the strange ways in which children sometimes seem to understand things that adults have forgotten.

So, was every story a hit for me? Nope. But did this make me want to read more Salinger? Absolutely.

[Steven Godin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't find my copy of Nine Stories so found this online. Must have read it 10 times already. One of the greatest short stories of the 20th century in my opinion.

[Inderjit Sanghera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Salinger occupies a similar place to Fitzgerald in the canon of American literature; a writer who is more famous for his mediocre works (‘The Catcher in the Rye’ to Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’) than for his true masterpieces, his short stories. As a short story writer, Salinger is masterful, although the same ‘themes’ tend to pervade both his short and long stories (spiritualism, phoneyness of the adult world, suicide, loneliness and the angst of war veterans) they are not dragged out to the point of being tendentious as they are in ‘Catcher’ but instead act as a charming backdrop to the flawed adults and precocious children who populate his work. Salinger instead relies on subtle descriptions to describe emotions and characters, even his most innocuous observations are imbued with a deeper meaning and importance, for example; “He needed a haircut-especially at the nape of the neck-the worst way, as only a boy with a an almost full-grown head and reed like neck can need one.” The image immediately conjures up the weirdness and awkwardness of the character, Teddy and the sense of discomfort his almost unworldly precocity has on adults. Or, another example, “The girl heard him as if from a distance, and turned her face towards him, one eye-on the side of the light-closed tight, her open eye very, however disingenuously, large and so blue as to appear almost violet…” in a story based around the ambiguity of this female character. Although all of the stories are delightful in their own way, the two true masterpieces are ‘A Perfect Day for Banafish’ a melancholic exploration of a damaged war veteran (Nabokov considered it a masterpiece) and ‘De Daumier Smith’s Blue Period’ the story of a long distance art teacher and his relationships with his pupils-the whole short story is imbued with a surreal atmosphere, like the Picasso paintings which it references, yet perhaps for Salinger it was not surrealism, but his pointing to the limitless bounds of human experience and perception.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

read this for a tutoring session and rediscovered the maxim we’d all do well to remember: the short story is a helluva medium. a strangely touching story about a traumatized war vet’s happenstance encounter with the precocious though earnest progenitor of one surly holden caulfield. a story equal parts love and squalor, “for esme” erects the prisonhouse of wartime trauma, then offers its single-lettered protagonist the hammer to destroy it—the way out of squalor and into love is, of course, language; “hell is the suffering of being unable to love,” as good as saying “the suffering of being unable to read and write.” takes the clipped repressive masculinity of hemingway and trades the nihilism for catharsis.

a star off for the casual anonymizing of adult women, naggy psychoanlyzing loretta and the faceless mrs. x… and then there’s esme herself, bright & empty as a marionette. i suspect as much as salinger ~gets~ adolescence, he also narrativizes it too cleanly, limning in a few short pages a charming portrait of a disaffected young teenager who can effect an adult man’s resurrection but not, ultimately, her own. a dimensional enough likeness up close, revealed from a distance to be nothing more than a flat surface

[Vanja Šušnjar Čanković · Rating 5 out of 5]

Selindžer je bio i ostaće jedan od ubjedljivo najtalentovanijih i najuticajnijih svjetskih pisaca kratkih priča. Njegov stil je sažet, prvoklasan i prelijep! Njegova najveća strast su djeca, njihova nevinost, snaga njihove imaginacije i njihova izvanredna sposobnost percepcije. Genijalna u svojoj neiskvarenosti ne prestaju da ga opčinjavaju i vjerovatno se nikad neće roditi književnik koji će o njima pisati sa toliko topline, gracioznosti i zahvalnosti što postoje i što nas neprestano uče kako da živimo u sadašnjem trenutku, čistog srca i uma nezamagljenog predrasudama. Svih devet priča zbirke „Za Esme“ su napisane sa očaravajućom jednostavnošću, naizgled labave strukture, ali s takvom razigranošću i svježinom koja razoružava i najtvrdokornijeg čitaoca nudeći mu nezaboravno iskustvo.

Detaljnije na blogu: https://sputnjik1.wordpress.com/2018/...

[Γιώργος Ζωγράφος · Rating 5 out of 5]

Καταπληκτικές ιστορίες... Μακάρι ο Σάλιντζερ να ήταν γνωστός ευρύτερα για αυτό το βιβλίο και όχι μόνο για τον αρκετά καλό "Catcher in the Rye". Ιστορίες με πολλά "στρώματα" και εκπληκτική χρήση της γλώσσας που δεν σε αφήνει να σταματήσεις το διάβασμα. Παρ' όλα αυτά, πρέπει κανείς να αφιερώσει τουλάχιστον 4 ημέρες για την ανάγνωσή τους έτσι ώστε να τις νιώσει και να τις "ενστερνιστεί" πλήρως. Τόσο καλές είναι. Ξεχώρισα το For Esmé-with Love and Squalor, το συγκινητικό Down at the Dinghy, το απίστευτα ατμοσφαιρικό και κρυπτικό Pretty Mouth and Green My Eyes και όλες τις άλλες για να είμαι ειλικρινής! ;)

[Valesca Deckers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never completely understood why people read the same book multiple times.
Now I do.

[Eddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pour le moment c'est mon ouvrage préféré de Salinger. Excellent recueil de nouvelles. On y trouve quelques connections avec Franny et Zooey et la famille Glass.

[Biljana · Rating 4 out of 5]

''Čitav svoj život čuvao sam razne stvari kao neka izuzetno neurotična svraka...''

U Selindžerovim pričama stanuju ideje.

U različitim mjestima kotrljaju se dani brojnih glavnih likova, tih starmalih bića postavljenih u svijet odraslih, dok pokušavaju dokučiti fenomen postojanja u (sve više) materijalistički nastrojenom društvu.
Selindžerovo pripovjedanje, uglavnom iz prvog lica, tako lepršavo, a do srži slojevito, čitaocu ostavlja na interpretaciju motive i završetke.

Postavljajući mlade ljude i djecu u svijet njihovih roditelja, autor se bavi tom djetinjom percepcijom, koja okruženju u kojem se nalaze daju nesvakidašnja svojstva, a sve kako bi se održali na površini svog postojanja, zbog čega ova zbirka zalazi u dubinu maštanja koje traži svoj put, nesputan u stvarnosti.

''Hoću da kažem, oni izgleda nisu sposobni da nas vole onakvi kakvi jesmo. Oni izgleda nisu sposobni da nas vole ukoliko nisu u stanju da nas neprestano menjaju. Oni vole svoje razloge zbog kojih nas vole gotovo isto toliko koliko vole nas, a u većini slučajeva čak i više. To nije baš tako dobro.''

[George Ilsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of Salinger's best-known short stories, a favourite of many, and also one that (I believe) reflects the author's own World War II experiences and war trauma.

When his collection Nine Stories was reissued, it was often re-titled For Esmé — with Love and Squalor and Other Stories.

Won't say much about the story itself— it must be read. I've read it twice recently, and would do so again, just to see what I might find the next time through.

[Марија · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oni [pesnici] uvek trpaju svoje emocije u stvari koje uopšte nemaju emocija.
A ja, dok čitam Selindžerovu zbirku kratkih priča, osećam se baš kao pesnik, trpajući emocije u svaku stranu, svaki pasus, rečenicu, pa čak i slog na koji naiđem. Ovo su priče od kojih mi jeza prođe niz kičmu, pa progutam knedlu i jedva sklopim kapak da trepnem, jer sam obuzeta čitanjem i ne postoji ništa van ove knjige, ništa van sveta koji je stvoren tu i tada.
Namerno sam pokušavala da odužim čitanje. Namerno. Bukvalno sam pričala sebi da treba ovo uživanje, ovo prvo čitanje, produžiti da traje što duže, a kada sam završila, došla je sledeća misao: "Jedva čekam da ponovo pročitam ovu knjigu!"
Svaka priča me je oduševila na drugačiji način, u svakoj sam našla neki smisao i neku logiku, čak i u onim gde je logika neželjeni efekat bivstvovanja, ili onim koje bih okarakterisla kao pomalo dosadne, pojavila bi se jedna reč, jedna i ta jedna bila bi dovoljna da mi pažnja ostane prikovana za tekst predamnom. Ja sam oduševljena ovim piscem, smatram da je majstor svog zanata i radujem se ponovnim čitanjima. Biće ih, u to ne sumnjam.

*******************************************

2. čitanje

• Perfektan dan za banana-ribe - 5*
Kako čitam prevod, prvo se pitam zašto ovaj dan nije savršen nego je perfektan. Nešto mi u ovoj priči ne štima. Nešto nije kako treba. Ispada da ipak ovakav naslov pristaje samoj priča jer se dešava upravo nešto što ne štima. Nije mi jasno. Evo ni posle toliko čitanja i dalje ne znam šta se to vrtelo po Simorovoj glavi da učini to što je učinio. Ovim čitanjem doduše, više sam se fokusirala na Mjuriel i njeno shvatanje svega. Jer ako je Simor toliko lud koliko ga opisuje njena majka, zašto bi pobogu Mjuriel i dalje bila sa njim? Kako se uopšte zaljubila u njega? Zašto je želela da provede svoj život sa njim?
• Ujka Vigli u Konektikatu - 5*
Mislim da mi je ovo najomiljenija od svih priča. Sećam se kada sam je prvi put čitala kako sam se mučila pokušavajući da izgovorim svako "k" u "Konektikat" i kako mi je baš tada prolazilo kroz glavu kako ovo i nije neki naziv za priču. Sve dok je nisam pročitala. Ujka Vigli će mi na neki čudan način postati jedna od romantičnijih priča koje sam pročitala. Ovo je jedina Selindžerova priča u kojoj se kao jedan od glavnih likova pojavljuje Volt. Ne znam da li mi je tada psotao omiljeni brat porodice Glas. Možda tek kad sam ih pročitala sve. Ne znam, a opet kao da sam iz tri rečenice njegove voljene izvukla više o njemu nego iz dve knjige o Simoru.
•Pre početka rata sa Eskimima - 5*
Poslednja rečenica ove priče. Poslednja rečenica je ključ. Jesam li je shvatila? Ne znam. Možda. Nije nemoguće. Ali, malo je čudno, zar ne?
•Čovek koji se smeje - 4.95*
Ovo priču pamtim po glavnom junaku i koliko me je zapravo uplašio kraj priče Čovek koji se smeje (da, u pitanju je priča u priči). Sada sam mogla da je povežem sa događajima koji je okružuju i shvatiti značaj Meri Hadson i partija bejzbola koje se igraju vikendom. I one koja se vodi kao poslednja.
•Dole kod čamca - 5*
Priča u kojoj se BU Bu glas pojavljuje kao glavna junakinja (prvi put). Priča koja remeti onu tezu da deca ne osećaju empatiju. Ovde se oseća previše.
•Za Esme, s ljubavlju i mučninom - 4.95*
Može se reći da je ova priča podeljena u dva dela, jedan ljubavan, jedan mučan. Pitam se ko je X, možda jedan od nama već poznatih likova (da nije Simor?) jer ono što znamo o njemu je da je oženjen, govori dosta jezika (bar francuski i nemački, pored engleskog), piše (ali ne baš puno pisma) i da je doživeo nervni slom. Međutim, tu mi se ne uklapa onaj brat sa komentarom... Uglavnom, jedna naizgled bezazlena priča koja da bi udovoljila svojoj junakinji, postaje mučna. I čitalac osećav sav strah i nepravdu koji su se svalili na generacije koje su doživele Drugi svetski rat.
•Lepa usta i zeleni mi oči- 5*
Jedna od onih gde ne znaš tačno šta se dešava, a u stvari znaš. A u stvari znaš. Cela priča je zapravo telefonski razgovor dva muškarca o jednoj devojci. Da li je to ista devojka koja se pojavljuje kroz opis okruženja jednog od muškaraca nije potvrđeno. Ali, ima smisla da je tako. Ipak, ovo je jedna od onih priča koja se sa takvom lakoćom čita, koja pušta da ti mašta sama razvija priču.
•Plavi period De Daumier Smitha - 4.5*
Totalno drugačiji osećaj sa ovom pričom. Melanholija glavnog lika oseća se u svakom pasusu, pomalo podsećajući na Lovca u žitu, pogotovo kada čujemo, moram tako reći, izmišljotine našeg junaka i njegove avanture, kojima dodaje specijalnu notu koliko god one delovale obične (a opet su neverovatno neobične). Ipak mi je od svih, najmanje pažnje zaokupirala.
•Tedi - 5*
Možda najduhovnija i filozofski nastrojena od svih 9 priča, Tedi ipak sa sobom nosi dozu detinjastog, u početku, da bi nas kako se približavamo kraju naterao da odrastemo i napregnemo naše moždane vijuge, a onda dotukao svojim vrhuncem u poslednjem pasusu. Ne, u poslednjoj rečenici. Ipak, da se Bil nije uputio ka palubi "E", kako bi onda Tedi postojao u našim mislima?

[Lulufrances · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pretty uncool that our dear JDS (let me live in my intellectual wannabe bubble and say JDS please) left us with such a tiny compilation of work, because I could just bathe in his writing, no joke.
Lucky me, I still have Raise High to look forward to.

This particular collection of short stories has somewhat achieved sentimental value for me; starting the moment I chose it in a picturesque bookshop in seaside town Aldeburgh, UK, scavenger hunting the shelves for something my father would buy for me, all the while having a loud bumblebee buzzing around the shop and my younger siblings making a racket in the children's section.
Imagine summertime seabreezes and sunshine and good smells - that was basically the moment I acquired this book, how could you not love that?
Then I started reading the first page waiting for a friend to pick me up before heading to a cool place, a couple of weeks after, and I remember being so engrossed and amused by the first paragraph I read and reread it till finally my friend made me jump by creeping up on me.
After that initial start I put it down for some reason and only ever got around to reading it in this christmas season - complete change of scenario for me, living in a different place and taking it along to family visits and uni-bound train rides.
So yes, sentimentality has a (gorgeous blue and gold) face.
Cue me squealing.

But hey - it doesn't stop there with my happy feelings towards this book, because the contents itself was beautiful.
I wish people wouldn't stop their JDS experience after Holden Caulfield, as his other work deserves that attention as well.
The way he describes children and their mannerisms is beyond me!
Personal favs in this include:
A Perfect Day for Bananafish. (Oh woahheee)
Just Before the War with the Eskimos.
For Esmé - with Love and Squalor.
But to be honest, I can't really choose here, such a wonderful, wonderful work as a whole.

[tea · Rating 5 out of 5]

bilo je baš lepo vratiti se ponovi selindžeru, omiljena priča mi je za esme i lepa usta i zelene mi oči

[Malvika · Rating 5 out of 5]

If there's one story you read today, make it Teddy by Salinger. Truly beautiful. There are so many quotes I want to write from this collection of stories, but unfortunately don't have the book on me right now. :(

This was my last Salinger (except Hapworth and some of his scattered short stories) and just about the most perfect way to end the year.

[esmé · Rating 4 out of 5]

hello hello hello hello hello hello hello hello love and kisses charlie

[Chaparro Vivanco · Rating 4 out of 5]

This might be my favorite line in any book.


“Charles, whom I am teaching to read and write and whom I am finding an extremely intelligent novice, wishes to add a few words.
Please write me as soon as you have the time and inclination.

HELLO HELLO HELLO HELLO HELLO HELLO HELLO HELLO HELLO HELLO
LOVE AND KISSES CHARLES”

[Mallika Mahidhar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Salinger is a genius. I like that there is so much dialogue in his short stories.
Out of the nine stories in this collection, my favourites were: A Perfect Day for Bananafish, For Esme - With Live and Squalor, De Daumier-Smith's Blue Period and Teddy. Oh my, Teddy was beautiful.

[Rania · Rating 4 out of 5]

just wanted to share one of my favorite lines:

"You know what she said? She says nobody gets a nervous breakdown just from the war and all. She says you probably were unstable like, your whole goddarn life."

[Charlotte Dann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exquisite in its entirety.

[kohey · Rating 4 out of 5]

ALWAYS WORTH REREADING!

[Alehli Renteria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Para Esmé, con amor y sordidez
«Santo Dios, la vida es un infierno».

[Ermina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lijepo, čudno, neugodno.

[andrea]

had to read this for school and now i'm d-e-p-r-e-s-s-e-d.

[Muna · Rating 4 out of 5]

So exquisitely written and yet often carrying no impact. A collection of varying degrees for certain.

[Jadranka Milenković · Rating 5 out of 5]

Knjigu priča „Za Esme“ Džeroma Dejvida Selindžera ove godine sam prvi put pročitala, iako je objavljena kod nas još 2009. (Izdavačka kuća LOM; prevod Nikola Kršić). Pre toga, bilo mi je poznato nekoliko priča, pročitanih na sastancima Književnog kluba „Prejaka reč“. Naravno, i Selindžerov roman „Lovac u žitu“. Knjiga „Za Esme“ kojom završavam 2019. godinu, za mene je književni događaj prvog reda, i daleko intenzivniji čitalački doživljaj nego što je bilo čitanje „Lovca“. Ne krijem da sam veliki poklonik kratkih priča. Selindžer se ovom knjigom pridružuje dugačkoj listi mojih književnih heroja na kojoj su Kortasar, Borhes, Kafka, Bucati, Kalvino… Priče su pisane veoma pažljivo, sa osećajem za detalj, sa izuzetno uspelim dijalozima iz kojih uglavnom saznajemo dešavanja koja čine fabulu. Junaci priča su neretko deca ili veoma mladi ljudi, prikazani tako da do izražaja dolazi njihova prava priroda, odraslima često nedostupna (zbog bavljenja sobom, ozbiljnim pitanjima ozbiljnog sveta odraslih ljudi). Izgleda kao da su suviše zreli za svoje godine – no, to je predrasuda; deca intenzivno promišljaju i doživljavaju svet, ali se neretko književnom obradom vrši neka vrsta infantilizacije. Zbirka tematizuje i posleratno vreme, junaci nekih priča su povratnici iz rata. Stilski veoma uspela, nenapadno duhovita, nepatetična – ova zbirka nema nijednu suvišnu rečenicu. Sa ovom knjigom završavam godinu, ali podozrevam da se neću tako lako rastati od nje i da ću je u 2020. godini čitati još jednom od početka – kao prvu.