The Ocean Full of Bowling Balls by J. D. Salinger. Short summary

5 seconds

Vincent Caulfield’s account of his little brother Kenneth’s last day. The redheaded boy said he would be by the ocean before he died. He went for a swim. His brother brought him home, but Kenneth died.

1 minute

Vincent Caulfield was a writer. He told his younger brother, the redheaded Kenneth, the plot of his story. His wife, after her husband’s death, discovers that for years he hadn’t gone bowling, but to his mistress. Kenneth said that if you make up stories, they should be good, kind ones.

The brothers went to an oyster restaurant. There Kenneth, despite his twelve years, managed to put the man who had been teasing him about his red hair in his place. The brothers drove to the ocean. There Kenneth read a letter to Vincent from the youngest brother, Holden. He was at summer camp and wrote about the obstruction he had received because he didn’t want to be like everyone else.

Kenneth said that when he felt death, he would be by the ocean. And he decided to go for a swim. But the ocean threw «one of those bowling balls» at him. Vincent brought Kenneth home. Holden was already there, having left camp.

Vincent told him to call a doctor. The brothers’ parents and the doctor arrived. But in the evening the boy died.