Aside from his New Yorker story "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" (January 31, 1948), Salinger wrote four longer fictions between 1955 and 1959—all published in the New Yorker—having something to do with Seymour Glass and the various other members of the Glass Family: "Franny" (January 29, 1955), "Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters" (November 19, 1955), "Zooey" (May 4, 1957), and "Seymour: An Introduction" (June 6, 1959). Brooding over these stories ("Franny" is the exception) is the unseen and sometimes seen presence of Seymour, Buddy's genius, rare poet, saint, spiritual guide, source of inspiration, and nonpareil hero—who in 1948 shot himself to death in a Florida hotel room where he and his wife Muriel were staying. "A Perfect Day for Bananafish," which describes the suicide, concerns among other things Seymour's unpredictable behavior, his wife's parents' concern for her safety, and his encounter with a small girl on the beach, whom he regales with...