Read "Catcher in the Rye"
With J.D. Salinger's passing, I read "Catcher in the Rye" recently. It is the only time I have read the work...I am not sure how I dodged it through all of my formal education. I may or may not be smart....one thing is beyond certain, I am formally educated.
As a novel with enduring power, the book speaks to the struggles and conceits of adolescence.
Struggles with family, peer group, adults, sexuality, education, and meaning, are big themes. Articulating the tragic beautifully is hard to do artistically, without being buried under the rubble of ruin. Salinger succeeds in a "grand" fashion. Couldn't resist using the word "grand" given Caulfield's vehement distaste for it.
"Grand. There's a word I really hate. It's a phony. I could puke every time I hear it."
Conceits, in that Holden Caulfield is one of those teens who is very prenatural observant about the failings and foibles of others--especially those older--yet he himself clearly sees his own weaknesses. That makes him honest and embraceable, but also a pain-in-the-arse. I have met quite a few teens who have seemingly molded themselves on the Holden Caulfield prototype.
I was one, by instinct, without being tutored by the work.
Caulfield has a common perspective as one who is keen on calling out phonies, often employing a seven-course meal serving of profanity in the process. Salinger was 32 when "Catcher in the Rye" was published, so Salinger wrote the work as an adult drawing on adolescent angst experiences, presumably some of them personal at least in emotional tenor, but not factually identical to his own life's story.
The setting of the story in New York City provides a strong tethering to a real place, a place that J.D. Salinger had lived both as a youth and a man, and that helps with the believability of the narrative. New York City hardly comes off as glamorous and all that. The lights of the big city just burn, often destructively, that much brighter. Many a youth should think twice before naively setting their hearts upon NYC. Or L.A. Or anywhere, that seems so much better than "Here."
Thought this quote kind of summed it up well:
—Original book jacket copy, possibly partially written by Salinger
I liked it, I really did. Make no mistake about it though, the book is tragic. Christ in in the Rye. If not, who is going to catch Holden Caulfield?
As a novel with enduring power, the book speaks to the struggles and conceits of adolescence.
Struggles with family, peer group, adults, sexuality, education, and meaning, are big themes. Articulating the tragic beautifully is hard to do artistically, without being buried under the rubble of ruin. Salinger succeeds in a "grand" fashion. Couldn't resist using the word "grand" given Caulfield's vehement distaste for it.
"Grand. There's a word I really hate. It's a phony. I could puke every time I hear it."
Conceits, in that Holden Caulfield is one of those teens who is very prenatural observant about the failings and foibles of others--especially those older--yet he himself clearly sees his own weaknesses. That makes him honest and embraceable, but also a pain-in-the-arse. I have met quite a few teens who have seemingly molded themselves on the Holden Caulfield prototype.
I was one, by instinct, without being tutored by the work.
Caulfield has a common perspective as one who is keen on calling out phonies, often employing a seven-course meal serving of profanity in the process. Salinger was 32 when "Catcher in the Rye" was published, so Salinger wrote the work as an adult drawing on adolescent angst experiences, presumably some of them personal at least in emotional tenor, but not factually identical to his own life's story.
The setting of the story in New York City provides a strong tethering to a real place, a place that J.D. Salinger had lived both as a youth and a man, and that helps with the believability of the narrative. New York City hardly comes off as glamorous and all that. The lights of the big city just burn, often destructively, that much brighter. Many a youth should think twice before naively setting their hearts upon NYC. Or L.A. Or anywhere, that seems so much better than "Here."
Thought this quote kind of summed it up well:
"The boy himself is at once too simple and too complex for us to make any final comment about him or his story. Perhaps the safest thing we can say about Holden is that he was born in the world not just strongly attracted to beauty but, almost, hopelessly impaled on it."
—Original book jacket copy, possibly partially written by Salinger
I liked it, I really did. Make no mistake about it though, the book is tragic. Christ in in the Rye. If not, who is going to catch Holden Caulfield?
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