- Alfred A. Knopf
There’s one small subgenre of literature that I find particularly endearing: the young woman working in publishing book. When I was younger, I viewed those books as guides to life. Even after they stopped being useful, at least to me since my own career as a young woman in publishing was more or less a disaster, I still enjoy them as wish fulfillment. How nice it would be to be young and living in New York and surrounded by books all day (but without having to live in the crappy apartment and deal with the pretentious young men and condescending bosses and the horrible, soul-crushing boredom of being an administrative assistant)!
“I didn’t know who Jerry was,” Rakoff admits. “This was 1996 and the first Jerry that came to mind was Seinfeld, who presumably wasn’t a client of the Agency, though one never knew, I supposed.” It’s not until Rakoff takes a look at the bookshelves outside her boss’s office, full of copies of The Catcher in the Rye and Nine Stories, that she finally realizes who “Jerry” is.
Joanna Rakoff will be reading from My Salinger Year tonight at 6:30 PM at The Book Stall, 811 Elm, Winnetka, 847-446-8880, bookstall.indiebound.com.
