Once a Week Won't Kill You
From Bananafish
| Once a Week Won't Kill You | |
|---|---|
| Status | underpublished |
| Original publication source | Story magazine |
| Original publication date | November/December, 1944 |
| Salinger.org rating | 2.9 |
| Previous | Next |
| Last Day of the Last Furlough | A Boy in France |
A very conversational piece about a man leaving for World War II. Everyone's always sitting heavily or something, not one of JDS' best.
- "Aunt--Uh--There's a war on. Uh--I mean you've seen it in the newsreels. I mean you've heard it on the radio and all, haven't you?"
- "Certainly," she snorted.
- "Well, I'm going. I have to go. I'm leaving this morning."
- "I knew you'd have to," said his aunt, without panic, without bitter-sentimental reference to "the last one." She was wonderful, he thought. She was the sanest woman in the world.
Sources
Once a Week Won't Kill You is difficult to locate. It only appeared in a single volume, Story magazine, which thankfully was at least somewhat plentiful and preserved. I was able to locate a copy at a well-stocked University library and others will likely have the same luck if they persevere. The story is of sufficient quality to warrant a trip on its own, and a bonus is that any library with this issue is likely also to have copies of Elaine, The Long Debut of Lois Taggett, and The Young Folks.
- (November/December 1944) Once a Week Won't Kill You. Story XXV: 23-27.
