I loved The Catcher in the Rye. It changed my life!
I loved The Catcher in the Rye. It changed my life!
Dude, I was thinking the same thing. I wouldn't be where I am today without that book!
Mark David Chapman wrote:
I loved The Catcher in the Rye. It changed my life!
Changed mine, too!
I hope the guy on the first page who called Holden a "spoiled punk" and then wrote "I loved Phoebe" would at least realize that the most endearing quality of Holden's is how much HE loves Phoebe.
"For Esme, With Love and Squalor" is a truly great short storie
Everyone hates me on this thread, so I am going to just shut up, get drunk and go read the books again this weekend in hopes of improving my life.
I hate myself.
Catcher is overrated the way that Beattles are overrated. Nobody can live up to that kind of hype and popularity. Salinger was an important American writer. A lot of it seems dated now, but his work was groundbreaking at the time. Nobody was writing dialog or developing characters like that. Now his style is copied, ripped-off and (by some) refined.
The shorter works are certainly worth a read. I enjoyed all of the Nine Stories. He has been rumored for decades to have finished several books - it will be interesting to see if they make it to print now that there is no privacy to invade.
Over Rated n awful wrote:
"The Catcher in the Rye" is overrated. It didn't take long before I wished Holden were real and in front of me so I could punch him in the face.
But if he were real and in front of you, you would've diverted your eyes and slunk away, because you're the real punk, evidenced by the fact you are trying to (anonymously rip a legendary book by a legendary author on the day he passed away.
Mark David Chapman wrote:
I loved The Catcher in the Rye. It changed my life!
Yes, I remember reading somewhere that with few exceptions, Catcher in the Rye has been consistently found on the person or in recent possession of almost all U.S. born assassins and many serial killers.
In addition, Salinger's novel has justified suicide in the minds of hundreds, maybe thousands of teenagers in this country based on family reports.
I love literature, and remember being impressed with Salinger's books as a teen, but can't think of another piece of fiction that has influenced lonely minds in as destructive a way as Catcher in the Rye has. I don't in any way blame the author (RIP) for this phenomenon, but the impact of his book is striking to me.
Shrink Wrap wrote:
Mark David Chapman wrote:I loved The Catcher in the Rye. It changed my life!
Yes, I remember reading somewhere that with few exceptions, Catcher in the Rye has been consistently found on the person or in recent possession of almost all U.S. born assassins and many serial killers.
What you read was more fictional than Catcher itself.
Frank at the HUB wrote:
Shrink Wrap wrote:Yes, I remember reading somewhere that with few exceptions, Catcher in the Rye has been consistently found on the person or in recent possession of almost all U.S. born assassins and many serial killers.
What you read was more fictional than Catcher itself.
Mark David Chapman
John Hinckley
Timothy McVeigh
Ted Kaczynski
Robert Bardo
How many examples do you need?
Stylistically, CITR was a stroke of genius the way Huckleberry Finn was- an adolescent voice adolescents could understand, identify with, talking about the process of trying to become an adult without assuming the phoniness all around him. His vision of a role for himself as a protector of innocence is hopeful.
But as a character to identify with, Holden, self-absorbed, self-pitying though privileged, judgmental without any particular virtues or accomplishments of his own, predictably appeals to whiny, self-absorbed snots, the last kind of person you'd want to be teammates with on a cross-country team. No backbone, no holding himself accountable, no real integrity, just a lot of finger-pointing.
On the other hand, he certainly could have benefited from a good coach.
As a teenager reading reading CITR, I was taken by Holden's pitch-perfect voice, his audacity, his well, charm. As I've gotten older, (I'm approaching 62) I find myself less patient with his narcissism. But then I had the urge to slam Napolean Dynamite into a locker. I only had respect for his grandmother. Am I alone in this? Also, by midway through Titanic, I started rooting for Billy Zane.
Frank at the HUB wrote:
But if he were real and in front of you, you would've diverted your eyes and slunk away, because you're the real punk, evidenced by the fact you are trying to (anonymously rip a legendary book by a legendary author on the day he passed away.
So the book and the author are sacred now? I've argued that the book is overrated in person. It's bollocks, crap, etc. Salinger must have wrote it as a joke for himself just to see if crappy, repetitive writing would be considered a classic.
Holden in his middle aged years.
http://whatever.scalzi.com/2010/01/28/from-the-whatever-archives-holden-caulfield-in-middle-age/
I always remember Caulfied's dorky buddy Ackley.
"Hey Ackley kid (he hated when you called him Ackley kid)"
"You wanna play some canasta? (he was a canasta fiend)"
I can't believe you posted this. I love it. I love this passage and this book soooo much.
Franny
CITR
Zooey
Perfect Day for Banana Fish
all really amazing boooks.
A teenager wrote:
Catcher In The Rye was rubbish imo. I honestly don't see what was to like about it. Was just a depressed kid who I wanted to hit the whole way through the story. I read it this year and everyone in my english class seemed to think they were hard core deep thinkers getting into his mind and it just sucked. He wasn't even rebelious. Just a loner who thought he was. Might be good for depressed loners who nobody likes with no social skills so they can hear from someone else in that boat. Also good for people who think they are deep thinkers and try to grasp the deeper meanings of everything someone says. Even though they are wrong half the time but just think they have hard core deep minds. But for someone who isn't in one of those situations it was just useless. My opinion anyway.
Well, you're just too cool for school, A teenager.
Over Rated n awful wrote:
Frank at the HUB wrote:But if he were real and in front of you, you would've diverted your eyes and slunk away, because you're the real punk, evidenced by the fact you are trying to (anonymously rip a legendary book by a legendary author on the day he passed away.
So the book and the author are sacred now? I've argued that the book is overrated in person. It's bollocks, crap, etc. Salinger must have wrote it as a joke for himself just to see if crappy, repetitive writing would be considered a classic.
With your lack of reading comprehension exhibited in this post, no wonder you didn't enjoy the book.
Shrink Wrap wrote:
Frank at the HUB wrote:What you read was more fictional than Catcher itself.
Mark David Chapman
John Hinckley
Timothy McVeigh
Ted Kaczynski
Robert Bardo
How many examples do you need?
A lot more considering the person who brought up this subject stated that the book was found "on the person" of "almost all" assassins and serial killers "with few exceptions." That means he's claiming only a few killers did NOT have the book on them while committing their murders, and that the vast majority of them did. Since there have been hundreds, perhaps thousands, of serial killers in American history, you'll need to provide a longer list than the five people you mentioned to prove whatever he read to be accurate. By his account, "almost all" of them.
Not that this is a relevant discussion point anyway. Catcher in the Rye is taught in most high schools, so most Americans have read it. Anyone who's trying to make a connection between the book and deviant behavior would be just as accurate to say "most serial killers have two feet."
98% of violent crimes are committed within 24 hours of drinking milk.