The author writes: The two long pieces in this book originally came out in The New Yorker ? RAISE HIGH THE ROOF BEAM, CARPENTERS in 1955, SEYMOUR ? An Introduction in 1959. Whatever their differences in mood or effect, they are both very much concerned with Seymour Glass, who is the main character in my still-uncompleted series about the Glass family. It struck me that they had better be collected together, if not deliberately paired off, in something of a hurry, if I mean them to avoid unduly or undesirably close contact with new material in the series. There is only my word for it, granted, but I have several new Glass stories coming along ? waxing, dilating ? each in its own way, but I suspect the less said about them, in mixed company, the better. Oddly, the joys and satisfactions of working on the Glass family peculiarly increase and deepen for me with the years. I can't say why, though. Not, at least, outside the casino proper of my fiction.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
32 of 34 people found the following review helpful
A Kid's Review
Format:Turtleback
Commonly mislabeled the worst of the Glass family saga, and of J.D. Salinger's work in general, Raise High the Roofbeam Carpenters, and Seymour, an Introduction, deserves much praise. Salinger takes a lot of care and thought in writing these two short stories. Raise High the Roofbeam, Carpenters features Buddy Glass attending his brother, Seymour's wedding. Seymour never physically appears in this story, but Buddy narrates so much about him that he is very much a main character. Seymour, an Introduction is a more difficult read. What at first appears incessant ramblings of a grief stricken sibling, at second glance becomes a well crafted work of genuis. Every word is carefully placed, to describle Seymour, Buddy's relationship with Seymour, and Seymour's impact on everyone he met. While getting through the second story, may be difficult it is a worthwhile challenge. You will learn everything about Seymour, from the way he wrote poetry, to the way he shot his marbles, and from Seymour you will learn an entirely new way to view the world, and everyone in it.
-PRBecki
-PRBecki
25 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Both of these stories were beautiful, beautiful beautiful. It baffles me to read all of these reviews written by people who were wild about "Raise high..." and almost indifferent toward "Seymour:" I feel that Seymour was the single most important book out of the Glass series. Yes, it's difficult to get through the first time, because, as Buddy says, the General Reader's most immediate want is to "see the author get the hell on with his story," which Buddy doesn't do because, really, there is no "story." However, if you are the type of person who can sit still long enough to follow through with Buddy's run on sentences and footnotes, et cetera, you will find, tucked in several places throughout the story, "the good, the real," the holy. I've read this book about 5 times, and I can't help walking around dazed for days after I'm through with it, marvelling at the tiny things that have suddenly taken on a sort of surreal beauty. My personal Salinger favorite. -Bridgdawg@aol.com
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
By Sam Wise
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Just what it is about Salinger I don't know, but I was captivated from the first time I read Franny and Zooey. Maybe it's the down to earthness of the dialogue, the kookiness of the characters. Maybe it's the way he says things worth saying without being too lofty or literary, or maybe it's the way that you feel part of his world, get into the heads of the characters. Whatever it is it's good, and too complicated to define easily, which makes it better. Buy this book and all the books. The Glass family can be your friends too.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Seymour
I got this book to give me insight into the Franny and Zooey book which is one of my all timje fav books ever.
Published 2 months ago by allison
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfectly Incomplete
Salinger is so often measured against what he could have been. What he gave was more than enough. These collected pieces, from a whole that was arguably never finished, constitute... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Kindle Obsessed
4.0 out of 5 stars
Didn't know what to expect, but not this.
Somehow I escaped reading "Catcher in the Rye" or anything else by J.D. Salinger in my high school or college days. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Tom Bruce
3.0 out of 5 stars
Two stories: very different levels of difficulty
If these two, very different but related, pieces were published separately (as originally they were, in the The New Yorker), I would give Raise High the Roofbeams, Carpenters four... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Lost John
5.0 out of 5 stars
See More of Seymour Glass . . . Even Though He Doesn't Appear
"The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones:... Read more
Published on March 26, 2011 by Donald Mitchell
5.0 out of 5 stars
5 stars for 'Carpenters' 4 stars for 'Seymour'
Unlike much modern fiction which is well-written but has little in the way of meaning, I found these two novellas, especially 'Raise High the Roofbeams, Carpenters', to be not only... Read more
Published on January 9, 2011 by Ted Byrd
5.0 out of 5 stars
Two portraits of Seymour
At first, these two extended stories may seem relatively unrrelated, with only the narration of Buddy Glass holding them together. Read more
Published on July 6, 2010 by Tonetta Chester
5.0 out of 5 stars
Something to Go Back to
I just finished this book this evening, and though it was a chore to get through "Seymour", I'm glad that I did. Read more
Published on January 31, 2010 by J. Roberts
4.0 out of 5 stars
Minor Masterpieces
I wish Salinger had ended his publishing career in 1965 with "Seymour: An Introduction"; he would have gone out on a relatively high note. Read more
Published on January 29, 2010 by J. Call
3.0 out of 5 stars
Unequal Reading
Just like Franny & Zooey this is a novel with two parts. The first part in both (Franny and Raise High... Read more
Published on January 2, 2010 by S. C. Rocha
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