This
story is the first half of a novel, the second half being Seymour, An Introduction. In Raise High the Roofbeam, Carpenters, the story follows a young private in the army who is on leave to go to his
brother Seymour's
wedding. The private's name is Buddy Glass, of the Glass family about which many of Salinger's works are concerned. Buddy, with his ribs wrapped due to a bad case of pleurisy, travels all day to get to the
place where Seymour is marrying a girl that Buddy has never met. Buddy is very surprised by the whole thing, but he is the only one out of the entire Glass family who is able to make the wedding so he feels an obligation to get there.
Once he finally does arrive, through the heat of New York City in the summer time, after being written up for not saluting a superior officer, he is clearly out of place. Seymour, the
groom, is nowhere to be seen. As for the
bride, she is in another room in hysterics because Seymour has not shown up. Buddy makes no effort to tell anyone that he is the brother of the groom. In fact, once it is clear that Seymour is not going to show up, Buddy is loaded into a car in a procession to where the reception was due to take place. However, a parade blocks the car which Buddy and several other friends of the bride are in, including a mute man who appears to be a stranger to the other. So, to beat the heat, Buddy invites all of the them up to his and Seymour's
apartment, where they can get a couple of cold drinks and relax for a while. By this time, the group has determined that Buddy is the brother of Seymour due to their physical similarities.
Once at the apartment, Buddy becomes a quick host, trying to cool the place off by opening up windows and making them all drinks, including the mute man who is the most jovial of the group. Fighting and bickering persists between one of the bridesmaids, her husband (also in the military) and Buddy, who is curiously poking around Seymour's apartment, trying to figure out just why his brother did not turn up for his own wedding. Several clues do emerge, a journal, a note on the mirror from which the title is taken. But in the end, Seymour never makes an actual appearance in this story. It is revealed that he agreed to meet with his bride-to-be and to marry her in a much less public place. Meanwhile, Buddy get drunk and falls asleep, while his last guests appear to have let themselves out of the apartment. All told, the story does not have a typical arc to it. Their is only the conflict of the missing groom which is barely resolved, but the quality of the writing, in addition to the humor and the general ease and flow of the narration make this story a fantastic read.
More reviews about the Raise High the Roofbeam, Carpenters