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...