Talk about another world, different both from the other books that I've been reading recently and from the world that I live in. This world has fur coats and smoking in restaurants and coin-operated restroom stalls. He's a pompous fool, interested only in appearances and hearing himself talk, while she's consumed by middle-class angst. I'm left with the suspicion that her angst is really caused by a possible pregnancy. But if she's preggers, what the hell is she doing drinking martinis and smoking cigarettes?

A wide range of viewpoints. Yes, the characters were superficial and transparent, but, considering that their surname was 'Glass', probably so by design. And the angst, the spiritual groping, that Franny was suffering may seem unwarranted to us, considering the other books that we've been reading lately, but it was real enough to her. And only the well-fed and secure can really afford the luxury of angst. (And according to the NLS, Zooey is pronounced zoo-ee. So what, did they call up Salinger to ask? And did he respond?) Mostly, it was considered to be an experiment, working through Salinger's own interest in Eastern religions to explore Franny's (eventual) spiritual enlightenment. And I wasn't the only one to suspect that she was pregnant. (One quote came out, that Salinger loved his characters more than they loved themselves. And it shows.)