Another rereading that I had promised myself. Reading the three short story books of Salinger one after another allowed me to immerse myself in that kind of family saga about the Glasses and enjoy it like a fragmented novel.

"Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters" is one of my favorite stories about the Glasses. The unusual wedding of Seymour that he doesn't show up to; the tension of the car ride that his brother Buddy shares with the bride's guests, without them knowing who he is, and that way of making Seymour's presence felt without him ever appearing on stage are very well done.

"Seymour: An Introduction", on the other hand, still seems like a strange text to me. It is Buddy's attempt to write about Seymour's "brilliant" poems (but never showing his verses: a smart but not very honest move). Verbose and digressive, it hints that Salinger had already lost his connection to the ground (something that - they say - becomes even more evident in the last story he published, "Hapworth 16, 1924", and which is not in any of his books). One of my problems with this story is that it sins of what Seymour himself understands as sentimentality: "we are sentimental when we remember a thing with more tenderness than God gave it". The affection that Buddy (Salinger's alter ego) has for Seymour is too obvious, even excessive. As a story, it also doesn't have a clear structure: it is a text that is sustained more by the thematic interest than by the narrative (but would it work for a reader who is not familiar with Seymour?). And yet, it is still interesting and moving. It is an ambitious proposal that intuits the construction of an expanding creative universe that reached the metafictional (for example, it is insinuated that Buddy Glass is the author of The Catcher in the Rye).

I come out of these stories wanting more stories about the Glass family. We can only wait and see if the rest of Salinger's work soon sees the light.

[I leave here the impressions of my first reading]

Just as Seymour Glass "was by far the least prolific in the family in terms of letters. I don't think I've received five of his letters in my entire life", the stories about the Glasses are not abundant, but for that very reason they are valuable, worthy of being cherished and reread.

"Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters", the best of these two stories, follows Buddy during Seymour's unusual and frustrating wedding. I don't know how to do justice to the beauty it contains; the only thing I can say is that it left me wanting to reread all of Salinger's stories.

"Seymour: An Introduction", a kind of very digressive diary, is Buddy's attempt to bring us closer to the mystery that was his brother Seymour, that wonderful ghost around whom the Glasses orbit, and also the readers of Salinger.

Há sonhos maravilhosos nos quais se lêem livros extraordinários, ouvem discos fascinantes, vêem filmes impressionantes, etc. Essas experiências são tão impossivelmente perfeitas que, logo que se acorda, se dissipam tais obras oníricas na amnésia do regresso ao estado de alerta. É como se tudo aquilo que foi tão incrível durante o sono desaparecesse instantaneamente.

Ler este Salinger foi como assistir a uma mais-que-perfeita mini-série realizada pelo Whit Stillman. A escrita de Salinger é tão cativante que transporta o leitor para um mundo único, cheio de emoções e personagens complexos. É como se estivéssemos assistindo a uma obra de arte em movimento.

[Quem sabe dos meus guilty pleasures cinéfilos e do quanto aprecio a actividade «leitura» fica com a perfeita noção do motivo pelo qual guardo «os salingers» como as ocasiões para bolo de chocolate. É porque ler Salinger é uma experiência tão deliciosa e especial que vale a pena preservar e aproveitar sempre que possível. É como um momento de puro prazer e indulgência.]

I read "Raise High The Roofbeam" once again in 2021. It truly stands as his finest work.

The two long short stories or novellas are like night and day. "Raise High The Roofbeam" is classic Salinger. It's in the vein of "A Perfect Day for a Banafish" and "Franny and Zooey". He has the remarkable ability to take these strangers, put them in a car, and make it engaging for 95 pages. The dialogue and social interactions are of the highest caliber.

Seymour, on the other hand, is more challenging. Salinger has this idea about not aiming and just shooting, or in this context, writing. But I suspect he's deliberately trying to write badly. There are indeed some great passages that are highly self-reflective of the author or expose the phonies in the conformist society, which is classic Salinger. However, the writing is as indirect as possible.

Salinger continued to write until his death. He published one other longer story after this, "Hapworth 16, 1924", which was also poorly received. It's difficult to determine whether he was being deliberately strange like Bob Dylan's "Street Legal" or simply spent like "Down in a Groove". We can still wonder if there's one more "Time out of Mind" out there, but as each year passes, that seems less likely. If Salinger had one more great work left, we would probably have it by now, and his decision to not publish after this most likely indicates a realization on some level that he was done.

This is truly a game of two halves. If I were to rate the stories separately, I would give "Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters" 3 stars and "Seymour: An Introduction" only 1 star. So, I've averaged it out to arrive at my overall rating.

The first story serves as a precursor to one of Salinger's most renowned short stories, "A Perfect Day for Bananafish," which I had recently read in "Nine Stories." It details the wedding day of Seymour, a member of the Glass family that appears frequently in Salinger's works. I won't disclose more of the plot, but it was engaging and entertaining. There's an outstanding section where a group of people are chatting in a car, and the conversation is delightfully awkward.

The second piece, unfortunately, is unreadable. It's a meandering, incoherent commentary on the same member of the Glass family, presented by his brother, who is also the narrator of the first story. I gave up on it early.

I've challenged myself to read all of Salinger's work – and there isn't that much of it. So, I'll continue. Next up is "Franny and Zooey."

For the sentence "yükseltin tavan kirişini ustalar", I fire a bullet. The bullet hits its mark. Look, I was so impressed that I could write an evaluation like the text on the back of a truck. I am aware that I couldn't fully do justice to "seymour: bir giriş". I will come back again in a few years. Love.

It seems that the author has a strong reaction to the given sentence and expresses his or her emotions vividly. The mention of firing a bullet and being impressed to the extent of writing an evaluation like that on a truck's back shows the intensity of the feeling. However, the author also acknowledges not being able to fully appreciate "seymour: bir giriş" and plans to revisit it in the future. The use of "Love" at the end adds a touch of warmth or affection.

Overall, the text provides a snapshot of the author's thoughts and feelings at a particular moment, with a combination of strong emotions and self-awareness.

Reading "Seymour: An Introduction" admittedly feels like work. However, "Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters" is a short story that is brilliantly architected and beautifully constructed. I have a great affection for the intro dedication. It feels extremely personal, especially during the several intentional dialogues that Buddy Glass initiates with the reader in "Seymour". This dedication was a significant factor in helping me persevere through to the (ultimately satisfying) end of "Seymour".

Although I still don't understand what all the commotion is about with The Catcher in the Rye. What a phony that Caulfield guy is, isn't he? Nevertheless, I still have a deep adoration for the rest of the Salinger oeuvre. I am eagerly looking forward to the set of posthumous works that his surviving family will be publishing in the coming decade.

*DEDICATION: "If there is an amateur reader still left in the world—or anybody who just reads and runs—I ask him or her, with untellable affection and gratitude, to split the dedication of this book four ways with my wife and children." - J. D. Salinger, dedication from “Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters" and "Seymour: An Introduction"

When a panoramic awareness of the real face of the world first hits you, it’s paralyzing.

It's as if a sudden and overwhelming truth has descended upon you, leaving you stunned and unable to move forward.

If you manage to find your footing again, it’s - more and more bearably - only a hard struggle; though it gets worse before it gets better.

You begin to grapple with this new understanding, facing numerous challenges and setbacks along the way.

And if you find real, solid happiness in your life after all that, it’s the beginning of your journey’s end, and a Real Blessing - “a crown upon your life’s work.”

For Nature made supreme happiness our natural human goal.

This little review is only about Seymour, and not the other bright Glass kids...

Seymour is trapped right at the outset of that first phase. Like Dante was, in a Dark Wood. For him, panoramic awareness is a curse.

He is burdened by this knowledge, unable to escape its clutches.

And that it in fact is - until you can turn it into a blessing.

But the blessing is stillborn in Seymour, because he buries the curse.

He chooses to ignore and suppress this truth, rather than confront it and find a way to transform it.

And the Curse - which happened right at the very beginning of things - is the lot of ALL of us whether we know it or not.

Seymour chooses to run away from it! Big mistake... For once the ghost is seen, it will haunt him forever.

Until it has been blessed and laid to rest.

And the way it haunts him is all in one word: Depression.

He says to a little kid playing nearby - Try not to see so clearly! Like he always disconnects his own heightened awareness.

But real life is nothing if not a struggle, and that struggle begins with the heightening of awareness.

Giving in to Depression, though, is wanting to curl up and die.

Even when God is calling our name!

It’s like it was for Roquentin in Sartre’s Nausea - resistance is futile, the mediocre Shadows say to him on that murky side of life.

Or like the inscription says over Dante’s Hell. ‘Give up hope if you come here!’

The Shadows lie.

Hope is the only key to the lock, so use it before night falls - and keep on hoping ever afterwards!

As Paul says, we are saved by Hope. Which is not to say Seymour will not be saved, for hope springs Eternal in the reader who has faith to see such things.

But in the meantime...

Life hurts.

A lot.

Poor, poor Seymour.

If Seymour had a chance to have that hurt assuaged by Love, perhaps he could keep up the struggle.

But then - none of us knows What Dreams May Come.

Though that ignorance is itself partially a Blessing.

In retrospect, it's truly a great shame that The Carpenters missed their golden opportunity to release a single called "Raise High the Roof Beam".

This song had the potential to be a major hit and could have further solidified their status in the music industry.

The Carpenters were known for their beautiful melodies and harmonious vocals, and "Raise High the Roof Beam" might have been another classic addition to their repertoire.

Perhaps if they had released this single, it would have reached a wide audience and received critical acclaim.

It's interesting to think about what could have been if they had taken advantage of this opportunity.

However, despite this missed chance, The Carpenters still had a successful career with many other beloved songs.

Nevertheless, the thought of what "Raise High the Roof Beam" could have achieved lingers in the minds of their fans and music enthusiasts alike.

It serves as a reminder of the importance of seizing opportunities in the music business and the impact that a single song can have on an artist's legacy.

Ψηλή σηκώστε στέγη, ξυλουργοί 4,0
This refers to a high-rise roof, and the carpenters are rated at 4.0.

Σίμορ, συστατικά στοιχεία 3,50
This might mean that the materials, perhaps, have a rating of 3.50. It could be that these ratings are related to the quality or performance of the carpenters and the materials used in constructing the high-rise roof. The higher the rating for the carpenters, the more skilled or experienced they are likely to be. And the rating of the materials might indicate their durability, strength, or other important characteristics. These ratings can be useful for builders, architects, and clients when making decisions about a construction project. They can help ensure that the final result is of high quality and meets the desired standards.

In this story, the happiest day in Seymour's life is shown - the day of his hasty marriage to his beloved Muriel. So passionate that out of happiness he didn't show up at his own wedding. It seems like a comical moment, and most likely it was quickly forgotten, because the groom was found, the marriage took place, and the relatives remained drinking while the groom and bride left. But Seymour's brother Buddy claims that in 1948 Seymour shot himself in the leg, and the revelation dawns on us, ah, who was shooting at "The good banana fish are easy to catch"! But why, the reader exclaims mentally? Yes, love was and is. But the matter, I think, lies in the great difference in values, so great that people become strangers. The Glasses - intelligent kids, their parents are actors, and to cover the costs of education, all the children participated in the show "The Intelligent Child", and had to conform. Seymour was the most successful in this show. It can't be said that the bride's family was uneducated. No. The bride's friend described Mrs. Fedders as teaching, working at a newspaper, and having read all the books in the world. She, of course, exaggerates, and we don't know what books she read. But still, the bride's family was the most ordinary family, where, as everywhere, material well-being is valued first and foremost (here Mrs. Fedders is also indicative, who did everything herself, sewed dresses, cooked, "like God", and ran the household, not to mention the habit of stealing matches from acquaintances to reduce expenses). For her, it was important that everything was as it was for other people. Love is also important for Muriel, but through a different prism. It's as if looking at the world through different lenses. And this distorting lens or prism, call it what you want - material well-being.

"What she expects from marriage is both absurd and touching. She would like to go up to the clerk in some luxurious hotel, all tanned and beautiful, and ask if her husband has picked up the mail. She wants to buy curtains. She wants to buy herself dresses "for a lady in an interesting position". She wants, whether she realizes it or not, to leave her parents' house, despite her attachment to her mother. She wants to have many children - beautiful children, like her, not like me" This is how Muriel understands love and family happiness. Boo Boo immediately determined that the bride was "an empty space", thus naming her in her letter to Buddy. The contradictions and incompatibility of the groom and bride were visible to the naked eye, which is why the future mother-in-law insisted on Seymour visiting a psychoanalyst so that he would become more like a normal person.

Seymour, on the other hand, is completely different. He soars in idealistic notions. The day before the wedding, he claims that he is too happy to get married and needs to calm down. Buddy tells the guests on the bride's side that "since the age of ten, Seymour and I have discussed everything, from accredited thinkers to the intellectual services of men's rooms in all the states", that Seymour "hated to be on display" and "didn't stick his nose up because he had above-average abilities". Seymour was a poet, "you know, a real poet". And yet he was a little abnormal. Will a person who has immersed himself in the depths of Zen Buddhism become normal by seriously talking to the mother of his future wife about the concepts of this very Zen Buddhism? Why say that he wants to become "a dead cat"? Without knowing the legend, any person will think whatever. And yet he himself diagnoses her: "She is a person forever deprived of any understanding, any taste for the main thing in poetry, which permeates everything in the world. It is unknown why such people live in the world." I will answer, for the sake of good.

"Perceiving the essence, he forgets the non-essential features; seeing through the inner virtues, he loses the idea of the external. He knows how to see what needs to be seen and not notice the unnecessary. He looks where he should look and despises what he shouldn't look at. The wisdom of Kao is so great that he could judge even more important things than the virtues of horses." This is who Seymour was. And he had the misfortune to love the beautiful, earthly woman Muriel. He couldn't kill her, he killed himself.

The story "Seymour: An Introduction" is a kind of obituary, only very personal. It is a psychological and literary portrait.

I love Salinger in any case. Let's raise the story of "The Catcher in the Rye" higher. In fact, the story of Seymour's escape from the wedding was told by his brother. The Glass family was the aristocratic and pivotal family of the plot, and another story was about the children of this family, who were in fact symbols of modern American families after the war.

The story of Seymour: It was a kind of prologue, a monologue and a one-person narrative with literary, social, and cultural analyses and critiques. A story that is not a story, a narrative that is not a narrative, and a critique that is not a critique. All of these are combined to form "Seymour: An Introduction."

All of them together become a Salingerian work!

The stories that are continuous and have some familiar characters establish a better and simpler relationship with the reader. For this reason, the first story in this book is very touching and familiar. It shows its good features such as character portrayal and the way of describing the absent characters through the dialogue of the present characters. It is a story about the Glass family.

However, the second story; Seymour's prologue is written in a strange way with the author's shiftiness regarding Seymour's character and has become a jumble of everything except the main line of the story. Although there was no line at the beginning either. When there are good stories about Seymour, what do these descriptions, praises, and glorifications present to the reader? Perhaps hesitation.