Nine Stories — J.D. Salinger (1953)

Nine Stories by J.D. Salinger, published in 1953, contains 'A Perfect Day for Bananafish,' one of the most analyzed short stories of the 20th century, where a soldier's playful beach interaction with a little girl ends in his suicide—a devastating juxtaposition of innocence and trauma. Salinger's use of the Glass family across multiple stories creates one of fiction's most elaborately developed fictional families, more interconnected than the characters in #1 Kafka's collections, which stand alone. Each story averages about 5,000 words, with Salinger revising for months to achieve his signature blend of colloquial dialogue and profound symbolism. 'For Esme with Love and Squalor' was called by Ernest Hemingway the finest short story about World War II, a rare endorsement from a rival.