Franny and Zooey

Everyone always talks about "Catcher in the Rye" when they talk of Salinger, but "Franny and Zooey" is also one of his finest novellas.

Certain critics mention the fact that it begins with a letter from Franny to her boyfriend. You are reading a novel, but it begins with a letter so that it catches you completely off guard. I didn't notice this myself, but it gave me a clue as to who the ideal reader of "Catcher in the Rye" may be. Catcher in the Rye is a novella, but it can also be regarded as a long letter, starting "If you really want to hear about it..." so that Holden Caulfield may really be writing to "Franny." Franny, I think, was conceived from the girl that Holden Caulfield kisses when she begins to cry madly, lovely, truly.

She is in college and dating a type that Holden himself would personally despise.