Just Before the War with the Eskimos
Short story by J. D. Salinger / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Just Before the War with the Eskimos" is a short story by J. D. Salinger, originally published in the June 5, 1948 issue of The New Yorker. It was anthologized in Salinger's 1953 collection Nine Stories,[1] and reprinted for Bantam in Manhattan: Stories from the Heart of a Great City in 1954.[2] It is a tale of adolescent alienation and redemption in a post-World War II setting. It focuses primarily on fifteen-year-old Ginnie Mannox's meeting with her classmate Selena Graff's older brother, Franklin.
Poet and New Yorker editor Dorothy Parker described the story as being “urbane, clever, and absolutely well-written.” At the time of its publication, it confused yet nevertheless delighted its audience.[3]