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News & ArtsMonday, January 26, 2009
Books More Authors Should Do This
Posted by Paul Constant on Mon, Jan 26, 2009 at 5:15 PM
I didn't realize that Salinger's book covers are so simple and elegant because his contract demanded that they be simple.
In the 1950s Salinger had a clause put in his publisher’s contracts that insisted only the text of the title of the book and his name were to appear on any future editions of his work, and absolutely no images.
It's an interesting post.
As a side note: I taught a book reviewing class this weekend and the teenagers in my class (all of whom were voracious and very good readers) weren't particularly crazy about Catcher in the Rye, although many of them appreciated Franny and Zooey. I wonder how Salinger's books will age in the twenty-first century.
2
re: franny and zooey
all my college aged peers seem to think the same. i prefer catcher, but i think part of it is that whole bullshit "rebellion" thing: they've been told catcher is one of the great post-war books blahblahblah so they're being so counterculture and different by preferring franny and zooey.
my generation is soooooo hip.
all my college aged peers seem to think the same. i prefer catcher, but i think part of it is that whole bullshit "rebellion" thing: they've been told catcher is one of the great post-war books blahblahblah so they're being so counterculture and different by preferring franny and zooey.
my generation is soooooo hip.
4
i prefer 'catcher' because it reached me on a personal level. i read it as a teen in the 90s, and i could still relate to a 1950 holden caulfield. not to forget, i appreciated heavily the "refreshing" writing that put it apart from other classics i had to read at the time. i did have my share of the overbearing teen years.
6
I liked Franny and Zoey (and Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters for what it's worth) better, also.
7
I confess that when I am aimlessly perusing books at a bookstore (when I'm not looking for any specific book), the cover illustration does give me a first impression. If I like the cover illustration, I am more likely to pick it up and read a few paragraphs; if I hate the cover illustration, I'm more likely to pass over it. Totally unfair, I know, but I can't look at a cover and not be effected in some way or another.
But this is only if I know nothing at all about the book or the author. If I already know the author, or a book comes recommended, then the cover illustration is irrelevant to me.
But this is only if I know nothing at all about the book or the author. If I already know the author, or a book comes recommended, then the cover illustration is irrelevant to me.
10
I feel the same way. I didn't really like Catcher, but Franny and Zooey was one of the pivotal books of my adolescence.
11
@7,
That's entirely the point and not unfair at all. With the exception of Salinger and maybe some other famous authors, cover artwork is chosen by the book publisher's marketing department. In some cases, they'll even choose the title.
That's entirely the point and not unfair at all. With the exception of Salinger and maybe some other famous authors, cover artwork is chosen by the book publisher's marketing department. In some cases, they'll even choose the title.
12
Catcher in the Rye is nearly unreadable. I was only able to get through it when living in Japan after running out of any other English materials. In my opinion "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" is his best work, but his writing is vastly overrated.
13
The trick to Catcher in the Rye, for me, is that when you are young you identify with Holden - a lot of people do, at least - and then if you go back and read it later, he is just funny. To paraphrase a friend, egoism and self-absorption can be so cute. Back when I kept a blog I wrote this about the book:
"This has perhaps been covered in innumerable high school essays, but I just re-read The Catcher in the Rye at age twenty-___, perhaps 12 years after I first read it. I was struck overall by what I noticed as someone not so identified with Holden. At the time of my first reading I basically sympathized with his plight; I don’t recall laughing. This time Holden killed me innumerable times.
But my one contribution to the study of fiction is the following..."
The rest of my post, which I don't think anyone ever read, ever, and in which I posit a theory regarding mummies and pagination, is here:
http://sergiusbuilder.wordpress.com/2006…
"This has perhaps been covered in innumerable high school essays, but I just re-read The Catcher in the Rye at age twenty-___, perhaps 12 years after I first read it. I was struck overall by what I noticed as someone not so identified with Holden. At the time of my first reading I basically sympathized with his plight; I don’t recall laughing. This time Holden killed me innumerable times.
But my one contribution to the study of fiction is the following..."
The rest of my post, which I don't think anyone ever read, ever, and in which I posit a theory regarding mummies and pagination, is here:
http://sergiusbuilder.wordpress.com/2006…
14
By the way, I forgot to mention that the reason if agree with those who don't like Franny and Zoey is that there is a weird incestuous vibe, a sort of closedness and sticky insularity to that who genius family. Although maybe I should go back and read again as I did with Holden. When I first read Franny and Zoey I took it so seriously, I tried to do the whole Russian prayer thing that Franny (I think) was doing, thinking it might lead me to peace. That was the beginning of a long journey...
By the way, Paul, I was wondering: If not Catcher in the Rye, what books did these young folk think were great? Just curious.
By the way, Paul, I was wondering: If not Catcher in the Rye, what books did these young folk think were great? Just curious.
15
That's not the cover of "Catcher" I remember. I remember brick red with just the author and title. That one's got a big chevron on the side and a Little, Brown logo. And it's white -- what the f?
16
yup - catcher was red, franny and zooey was white, and i think raise high was gold - but all no images.
17
I first read Catcher when I was about 30 and didn't care for it much. I've never read Zoey and Franny, actually, I've never heard of it until now.
18
I always liked Raise High the Roofbeam and Seymour too, but my knowledge of Franny and Zooey got me laid a couple of times.
20
For those of you who are interested, here's the original cover of Catcher (the one I remember reading):
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e379/e…
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e379/e…
21
Never heard of Franny and Zooey, but I HATED Catcher in the Rye when we read it in highschool, and I was a voracious reader who enjoyed the majority of the books we read in Lit. I wanted to smack a spine into that whiny little twit.
22
The cover pictured is from Little Brown's "LB Books" edition and was used at least through the early 90s. Not sure when they switched to it.
23
I loved, loved, LOVED "Franny and Zooey". It was the only thing that got me through sophomore year in college.
I identified, probably way too much, with Franny. (Yes, I was a theater major. At the University of Iowa, which made me an extremely pretentious pain in the ass) Plus, the mother is a dead wringer for my mother, and behaved exactly the way my mother would have behaved if I had decided to have a nervous breakdown and plant myself on the couch in her living room.
(Strangely enough, my mom and I have evolved to a very Zooey/mother relationship. But that's not important right now)
My Dad used to use "Catcher in the Rye" for the CCD class he taught (CCD is like Catholic Sunday school, except it was held on Wednesday nights, and is only for the public school kids). I have absolutely no idea what theological connection he was trying to make. Indeed, I suspect he was just using it to get some of the sacred cows in the parish worked up, or maybe give a glimpse of life in the big city for the kids in that dumb little town.
I identified, probably way too much, with Franny. (Yes, I was a theater major. At the University of Iowa, which made me an extremely pretentious pain in the ass) Plus, the mother is a dead wringer for my mother, and behaved exactly the way my mother would have behaved if I had decided to have a nervous breakdown and plant myself on the couch in her living room.
(Strangely enough, my mom and I have evolved to a very Zooey/mother relationship. But that's not important right now)
My Dad used to use "Catcher in the Rye" for the CCD class he taught (CCD is like Catholic Sunday school, except it was held on Wednesday nights, and is only for the public school kids). I have absolutely no idea what theological connection he was trying to make. Indeed, I suspect he was just using it to get some of the sacred cows in the parish worked up, or maybe give a glimpse of life in the big city for the kids in that dumb little town.
24
I read Catcher in the Rye for the first time when I was 27 and liked it pretty well (although it was so obvious to me that Holden is gay, an interpretation that apparently not many people share) but I absolutely hated Franny and Zooey. Incidentally, I ended up giving Catcher in the Rye to a 16-year-old kid, an ADD spazz/fuck-up/troublemaker who told me he'd never read a book through in his life (he was a great kid, I really liked him) and he read and really liked it - I think he was able to identify with a character like Holden. I like to think it might have changed his life a little for the better.
25
The problem I had with The Catcher in the Rye was that I hated Holden Caulfield. I still have trouble reading it - while intellectually I can appreciate the technique, I get no pleasure from reading a self-narrated stream of consciousness story about a socially inept jerkoff who gets in trouble because he's such an asshole.
26
I remember reading "Catcher" in high school in the 80's and being surprised that Chapman hadn't shot Salinger instead.
27
Maybe someone here can clarify this for me: It seemed to me that Holden had Asperger Syndrome, or something like that. Is that right?
28
Um...Gee. Yet another coming of age story by a guy. Good luck with that. Why are women supposed to fall all over themselves over books that depict male teen angst? Give me a break.
29
Paul - very interesting observation. I read Salinger 15 years ago for the 3rd (and final!) time. Catcher in the Rye - meh.
One of your "sentences" lacks a comma
One of your "sentences" lacks a comma
30
You're absolutely right, Sarah: It's horrible how they force girls to read Catcher. Just like Gitmo.
Of course, everything should have stopped at "Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret"
Of course, everything should have stopped at "Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret"
31
Wasn't this book written by some old dude who used to send letters to 18 year old fans and get them to be his "girlfriend" in upstate New York...
33
I didn't find it relatable at all. It's just some straight (yeah, straight, whether he's gay or not can't really be determined, even through subtext) white asshole going through superficial teen angst.
If I hear one more straight guy say this was his favorite book growing up i'll scream.
My favorite High School level books were Of Mice and Men and Brave New World.
If I hear one more straight guy say this was his favorite book growing up i'll scream.
My favorite High School level books were Of Mice and Men and Brave New World.
34
I have a theory that Salinger is long dead, buried somewhere in his yard in New Hampshire. I can't imagine he would want anything different.
36
Similarly I was just thinking earlier tonight about how Kafka wouldn't allow any illustration in editions of The Metamorphosis. Think of how awful it would be if there were some chump on the cover as Holden Caufield.
38
i really liked the relationship between the the brother and sister in Naked Lunch, it was just the kind of relationship i would have loved to have had with my own sister... if she had lived...
39
"Catcher in the Rye" may be the touchstone novel of the '50s, but "A Separate Peace" was the touchstone novel (I am told) of the '60s. John Knowles' book is brilliant, and his main character Phineas is based on Bobby Kennedy's best friend - a Milton Academy classmate. You could look it up.
40
@39: An emphatic YES.
Although I've always had a soft spot for a novel that mostly takes place in a bathroom.
Although I've always had a soft spot for a novel that mostly takes place in a bathroom.
41
Are the kids these days still all about Hesse, by the way? I read him circa 1990 and then immediately moved on to Nietzsche, which promptly put me to sleep.
42
Holden is an annoying, whiny, and inarticulate little shit. I much prefer the narrator in Peter Cameron's "Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You." He's a spoiled little rich kid as well, but he's smart and likable.
43
why r u teaching classes? you are the most pompous self-congratulating book reviewer i've ever seen....
btw, when's ur novel coming out?
btw, when's ur novel coming out?
44
I was 15 in 1995 when I read "Catcher in the Rye" and it didn't thrill me (I've always been a voracious reader). But when I read "Franny and Zooey" at age 17 it really resonated, and then I read his Nine Stories and A Perfect Day for Banana Fish TOTALLY ROCKED MY WORLD. Don't know what that means, but there it is.
I recently re-read "Catcher in the Rye" as a 28 year old, and I liked it better than I had as a teenager, but it still didn't sing to me the way some of his other stories have.
I recently re-read "Catcher in the Rye" as a 28 year old, and I liked it better than I had as a teenager, but it still didn't sing to me the way some of his other stories have.
45
"Catcher" really is a book that a reader must encounter at precisely the right moment in his or her life. I speak from experience; I read it the first time about 35 years ago, when I was a Sophomore in high school, and I HATED it. A year later, my Junior English teacher forced me to read it again; I did so, under protest, and I thought it was THE GREATEST WORK OF LITERATURE EVER WRITTEN. Some five or six years later, I read it again, and I thought it was...okay.
Since then, I've become an English teacher myself, and I've taught the book several times. Some students love it. Some hate it. Some find it enjoyable, but not particularly impressive.
Since then, I've become an English teacher myself, and I've taught the book several times. Some students love it. Some hate it. Some find it enjoyable, but not particularly impressive.
46
1)obviously Salinger is a closet Muslim.
2)Salinger is a writer you loved at a certain age and you grow beyond...
3)He's out of style right now, but that happens to most writers...but, that doesn't mean he'll come back.
2)Salinger is a writer you loved at a certain age and you grow beyond...
3)He's out of style right now, but that happens to most writers...but, that doesn't mean he'll come back.
47
Wow. I really need to re-read all of those Salinger books. I devoured them when I was a teenager and loved them. I wonder what I would think of them now? Now where did I put all of those books!?!?! GAH!!!!
48
does the message resonate when you are a teenager with a cellphone that can download music and porn?
being anti-establishment now is not the same as it was in 1950, and Holden C comes across as a petulant twirp, regardless of the beloved prose.
ask a kid now how they rebel in 2009, I truly am curious.
(back in my day it was minor threat and straight edge. we thought we were the bee's knees.)
being anti-establishment now is not the same as it was in 1950, and Holden C comes across as a petulant twirp, regardless of the beloved prose.
ask a kid now how they rebel in 2009, I truly am curious.
(back in my day it was minor threat and straight edge. we thought we were the bee's knees.)
50
@43: I'll take "self-congratulating," but there's no way I'm the most pompous book reviewer you've ever read, unless you've only read my book reviews. Christ, have you ever read the New York Times Book Review? Also: When's your book review coming out?
As to why the teenagers didn't like it: We didn't get into it a whole lot, but I think the whole "phony" thing doesn't carry water the way it used to.
As to why the teenagers didn't like it: We didn't get into it a whole lot, but I think the whole "phony" thing doesn't carry water the way it used to.
52
@37: That rings horrifyingly true.
I don't remember falling over myself over Catcher, and while I liked what I read, for one reason or another, I never finished Franny and Zooey. My favourite high school read was The Handmaid's Tale, but I think that's more of a Canadian staple. I also got to read Replay and I Am Legend in high school, both of which I loved (thanks, Mr. deAngelis!).
I fucking *loathed* Lord of the Flies.
I don't remember falling over myself over Catcher, and while I liked what I read, for one reason or another, I never finished Franny and Zooey. My favourite high school read was The Handmaid's Tale, but I think that's more of a Canadian staple. I also got to read Replay and I Am Legend in high school, both of which I loved (thanks, Mr. deAngelis!).
I fucking *loathed* Lord of the Flies.
54
Paul,
Check out some of Strauss & Howe's work for a possible explaination of why "phony" may not carry water lately...
Check out some of Strauss & Howe's work for a possible explaination of why "phony" may not carry water lately...
56
I looked on my bookshelf. I do not have any other paperbacks as plain as this. Does anybody else?
59
i always enjoy a simple book cover which concentrate on the title. pictures are not necessary to make a good design. use typography and colors. like in the latest issues of emigre magazine. http://www.emigre.com/EMagView.php
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