Nine Stories: "For Esmé–with Love and Squalor" by J.D. Salinger

by J.D. Salinger
The narrator of this story recalls meeting a girl named Esmé while stationed in England before D-Day, the Allied invasion of northern France in World War II.

Here are links to our lists for other short stories in Nine Stories: A Perfect Day for Bananafish,
Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut, Just Before the War with the Eskimos, The Laughing Man, Down at the Dinghy, For Esmé–with Love and Squalor, Pretty Mouth and Green My Eyes, De Daumier-Smith's Blue Period, Teddy

Here is a link to our lists for J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. edify
    make understand
    Nobody’s aiming to please, here. More, really, to edify, to instruct.
  2. imperceptibly
    in a manner that is difficult to discern
    I remember standing at an end window of our Quonset hut for a very long time, looking oid at the slanting, dreary rain, my trigger finger itching imperceptibly, if at all.
  3. synchronize
    cause to indicate the same time or rate
    Then, after synchronizing my wristwatch with the clock in the latrine, I walked down the long, wet cobblestone hill into town.
  4. rostrum
    a platform raised above the surrounding level
    On the rostrum, seated in three compact rows of auditorium chairs, were about twenty children, mostly girls, ranging in age from about seven to thirteen.
  5. levitation
    the phenomenon of rising as if by supernatural means
    Their voices were melodious and unsentimental, almost to the point where a somewhat more denominational man than myself might, without straining, have experienced levitation.
  6. blase
    nonchalantly unconcerned
    She was about thirteen, with straight ash-blond hair of ear-lobe length, an exquisite forehead, and blasé eyes that, I thought, might very possibly have counted the house.
  7. dissonant
    lacking in harmony
    I gathered that the singing part of the rehearsal was over, and before the coach’s dissonant speaking voice could entirely break the spell the children’s singing had cast, I got up and left the church.
  8. deadpan
    deliberately impassive in manner
    He slid out of and discarded his reefer; then, with the deadpan expression of a born heller, he methodically went about annoying his governess by pushing in and pulling out his chair several times, watching her face.
  9. radiant
    emanating or as if emanating light
    She stared back at me, with those house-counting eyes of hers, then, abruptly, gave me a small, qualified smile. It was oddly radiant, as certain small, qualified smiles sometimes are.
  10. enviable
    causing desire to have something possessed by another
    The next thing I knew, the young lady was standing, with enviable poise, beside my table.
  11. snobbish
    tending to associate only with people of a similar background
    I told her that was a pretty snobbish thing to say, if you thought about it at all, and that I hoped it was unworthy of her.
  12. filament
    a very slender natural or synthetic fiber
    She raised her hand to her wet head again, picked at a few limp filaments of blond hair, trying to cover her exposed ear rims.
  13. gregarious
    temperamentally seeking and enjoying the company of others
    “Usually, I’m not terribly gregarious,” she said, and looked over at me to see if I knew the meaning of the word.
  14. sensuous
    providing perceptible pleasure or gratification
    “Mother was an extremely intelligent person. Quite sensuous, in many ways.”
  15. baffle
    be a mystery or bewildering to
    It was a problem that had baffled me in my childhood.
  16. reflective
    deeply or seriously thoughtful
    She bit reflectively at the cuticle of her thumb.
  17. extrovert
    a person directed toward others as opposed to the self
    “My mother was quite a passionate woman. She was an extrovert. Father was an introvert.”
  18. introvert
    a person who tends to shrink from social contacts
    “My mother was quite a passionate woman. She was an extrovert. Father was an introvert.”
  19. candid
    openly straightforward and direct without secretiveness
    To be quite candid, Father really needed more of an intellectual companion than Mother was. He was an extremely gifted genius.
  20. receptive
    open to arguments, ideas, or change
    I waited, receptively, for further information, but none came.
  21. appendage
    an external body part that projects from the body
    When he saw that I was looking at him, he closed his eyes, sleepily, angelically, then stuck out his tongue—an appendage of startling length—and gave out what in my country would have been a glorious tribute to a myopic baseball umpire.
  22. myopic
    unable to see distant objects clearly
    When he saw that I was looking at him, he closed his eyes, sleepily, angelically, then stuck out his tongue—an appendage of startling length—and gave out what in my country would have been a glorious tribute to a myopic baseball umpire.
  23. queue
    a line of people or vehicles waiting for something
    “He saw an American do it in a fish-and-chips queue, and now he does it whenever he’s bored. Just stop it, now, or I shall send you directly to Miss Megley.”
  24. importunate
    making persistent or urgent requests
    At that point, I felt an importunate tap, almost a punch, on my upper arm, from Charles’ direction.
  25. mirth
    great merriment
    He then looked at me with his exposed eyes, which were full of slowly subsiding mirth and the pride of someone who knows a really good riddle or two.
  26. posterity
    all future generations
    “My father wrote beautifully,” Esmé interrupted. “I’m saving a number of his letters for posterity.”
  27. avid
    marked by active interest and enthusiasm
    “I’d be extremely flattered if you’d write a story exclusively for me sometime. I’m an avid reader.”
  28. prolific
    intellectually productive
    I told her I certainly would, if I could. I said that I wasn’t terribly prolific.
    “It doesn’t have to be terribly prolific! Just so that it isn’t childish and silly.”
  29. squalor
    sordid dirtiness
    “I prefer stories about squalor.”
  30. propensity
    a natural inclination
    “He has a violent temper. My mother had a propensity to spoil him. My father was the only one who didn’t spoil him.”
  31. vicinity
    a surrounding or nearby region
    She made no move to leave the vicinity of the table.
  32. livid
    furiously angry
    He came forward, his face livid, and gave me a loud, wet smacker just below the right ear.
  33. faculty
    an inherent cognitive or perceptual power of the mind
    “I hope you return from the war with all your faculties intact.”
  34. cunningly
    in a sly or crafty manner
    I’m still around, but from here on in, for reasons I’m not at liberty to disclose, I’ve disguised myself so cunningly that even the cleverest reader will fail to recognize me.
  35. armistice
    a state of peace agreed to between opponents
    Staff Sergeant X was in his room on the second floor of the civilian home in which he and nine other American soldiers had been quartered, even before the armistice.
  36. inscription
    a short message dedicating it to someone or something
    Now, for the third time since he had returned from the hospital that day, he opened the woman’s book and read the brief inscription on the flyleaf.
  37. illegible
    unable to be read
    He started to write Dostoevski’s name under the inscription, but saw—with fright that ran through his whole body—that what he had written was almost entirely illegible.
  38. interdependent
    mutually reliant
    He ached from head to foot, all zones of pain seemingly interdependent.
  39. vacuous
    void of expression
    Smoking, he looked vacuously around the room.
  40. listless
    marked by low spirits; showing no enthusiasm
    “Yeah, I had a letter from her yesterday. Down in my room. Show it to ya later,” Clay said, listlessly.
  41. resonant
    characterized by a loud deep sound
    He sat up straight on the edge of the bed, held his breath, and issued a long, resonant belch.
  42. unstable
    suffering from severe mental illness
    “You know what she said? She says nobody gets a nervous breakdown just from the war and all. She says you probably were unstable like, your whole goddam life.”
  43. saddle
    impose a task upon; assign a responsibility to
    I hope you will forgive me for having taken 38 days to begin our correspondence but, I have been extremely busy as my aunt has undergone streptococcus of the throat and nearly perished and I have been justifiably saddled with one responsibility after another.
  44. talisman
    a trinket thought to be a magical protection against evil
    I am quite certain that you will use it to greater advantage in these difficult days than I ever can and that you will accept it as a lucky talisman.
  45. ecstatic
    feeling great rapture or delight
    Then, suddenly, almost ecstatically, he felt sleepy.
Created on Thu Oct 26 12:00:00 EDT 2017 (updated Mon Apr 08 16:31:00 EDT 2019)

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