Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters

I've suddenly found that my reading resources are somewhat... limited. Not only are books expensive in this bit of the world, the title selection is lacking. Since I've kept track of the books I've read over the past few years, I've learned that I have quite the eclectic reading habit. I might be reading a biography one day and children's literature the next. Not having such a wide variety to choose from led me to the classics section while I was looking for a book to bring with me to Thailand. Thankfully I noticed a new-to-me title in the petite J. D. Salinger section... and that's how I found, Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters.

This publication is bundled with another short story, Seymour: An Introduction... but I won't mention that here.

Raise High is another story detailing the life of members of the Glass family. A family whose dinner table I would love to join, for the record. This time Buddy is telling about Seymour's wedding. Buddy attends the wedding and later finds himself in a stuffy car with the bride's aunt, the angry matron of honor and her husband, and a small man in a dashing top hat. What an uncomfortable place to be for the brother of the absent groom! You see, Seymour never arrived...

The bulk of the story is comprised of the time spent in the car and the intrigue is housed in the question of whether the party will discover Buddy's connection to the groom... a fact he has skillfully sidestepped.

As with all of Salinger's writing, I was immediately captivated. I appreciated being let in on Buddy's "little joke" of a concealed identity and almost forgot the fictitious nature of the Glass family, in general.

And I can't close without mentioning Salinger's death just days before my reading of the selection. I didn't learn of the news until after returning from Thailand but was saddened altogether to hear it.

Recommendation: Fans of Salinger will be delighted but start with Nine Stories if you haven't yet.