In honour of the centennial of the birth of J. D. Salinger in 1919, Penguin reissues all four of his books in beautiful commemorative hardback editions - with artwork and text based on the very first Salinger editions published in the 1950s and 1960s.

‘The two long pieces in this book originally came out in the New Yorker – Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters in 1955, Seymour – An Introduction in 1959. Whatever their differences in mood or effect, they are both very much concerned with Seymour Glass, who is the main character in my series about the Glass family. The joys and satisfactions of working on the Glass family increase and deepen for me with the years. I can’t say why, though. Not, at least, outside the casino proper of my fiction.’ – J. D. Salinger

This work comprises two interconnected stories which together offer a single, albeit fractured, arc. With great subtlety and attention, Salinger unfolds an exquisite and haunting portrait of family tragedy.