Hapworth 16, 1924 by J. D. Salinger. Short summary

5 seconds

8-year-old child prodigy Simor Glass, who is at summer camp with his younger brother, writes a lengthy letter to his parents and younger children, expressing unintelligent thoughts beyond his years.

1 minute

From a series of stories about the Glass family.

Buddy Glass became a writer. He publishes a letter from his brother Simor when he was 7 years old (and Buddy was 5) and both brothers were in summer camp. In the preface, Buddy mentions that Simor committed suicide when he was 32 years old.

It is clear from the letter itself that Simor is the first-born child of actors Les and Bessie. He is a child prodigy, but the other five children are also gifted. For example, Buddy shows talent as a writer, 4-year-old Boo-Boo already reads, and the Walt and Waker twins tap-dance and juggle.

Simor writes about life at camp, stating bluntly that the food here is poor, and the leisure time for children is even worse. The boy expresses his views on life — clever and original for his age.

He tells why he has so much time to write a lengthy letter: he hurt his leg «on a berry hike» and now lies in bed. There is a sense of Simor’s heartfelt closeness to his parents and the younger offspring of the Glasses in the tone of the ism.