[Bananafish] Nine Stories

[Matthew.Raymond at Lyondell.com]

Hello,

Teddy has been my favorite since I originally read Nine Stories, and
remains so.  Probably because I have a strong interest in Eastern
philosophy, specifically Buddhism.  Teddy also contains one of my
favorite sentences ever written.  The others have recently moved around
as my appreciation for the entire collection has developed.

1.  Teddy
2.  Perfect Day for Bananafish
3.  For Esme, with Love and Squalor
4.  De Damier-Smith's Blue Period
5.  Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut
6.  Just Before the War with the Eskimos
7.  Down at the Dinghy
8.  Pretty Mouth and Green my Eyes
9.  The Laughing Man

I don't dislike any of the stories, but this is my order of preference.
As you can probably see, I tend to prefer the stories that have a higher
level of "mysticism" or epiphany associated with them.  Although I guess
"The Laughing Man" does too, and I still rank it at the bottom.  

Matthew

-----Original Message-----
From: bananafish-bounces at lists.bway.net
[mailto:bananafish-bounces at lists.bway.net] On Behalf Of Cecilia Baader
Sent: Wednesday, January 03, 2007 1:17 AM
To: bananafish list
Subject: Re: [Bananafish] Nine Stories


It's funny.  I think the order in which I like them has changed
drastically over the years.  Esme, however is still first and Teddy is
still last.  Esme is in fact the most perfect short story I can think
of. 


Here's mine:

1. For Esme, with Love and Squalor
2. The Laughing Man
3. Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut
4. De Damier-Smith's Blue Period
5. Pretty Mouth and Green my Eyes
6. Just Before the War with the Eskimos
7. Down at the Dinghy
8. Perfect Day for Bananafish
9. Teddy

So there it is.  The Laughing Man would be his best if Esme didn't
exist, but much as I love the poppy-red masked man, Esme still beats him
out. 
Even if we were to add the Glass family stories to the list, Esme would
still win for me.  Yes.

Best,
Cecilia.

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