I kept reading references to Catcher in the Rye and the main character, but could not remember the details! I must have not connected years ago when I read it. I thought I would reread it, but I accidentally downloaded this book and it worked out perfect for me. The author addressed the characters in the book, the essential elements of the story and why it became so popular. He spent too much time talking about the 2 books written about Salinger, by his young mistress and his daughter. To reread Catcher in the Rye is still on my "to do" but I feel a bit more in- tune with the book! Even so, this book was just the right size and met my needs!
I missed the entire crux of this story on the very first page, but recovered at the end when I read the Cliff notes. All throughout this story, I thought the main character was a little eccentric. The young man was what I would call a shiftless piece of crap. His parents had too much money and very little time to raise him, and it showed in his ability to deal with the pressure of life. As the story progressed the protagonist becomes increasingly more unpredictable. Eventually, he lands in a sanitarium. That is what I missed on page one, he told his story of how he got into the place from the hospital. It might have made more sense to me if I had picked up on that at the very beginning. I may have had more sympathy for the kid. Author Salinger had to have had a very personal experience with mental illness in order to write so convincingly about how the disease progresses within one's mind. I'm glad I read this story now and not while I was in high school when it was on the teacher's reading lists as a must read.
You might be thinking to yourself, "why would MBC read a great book like The Catcher in the Rye?" Well. If I'm being honest with you, some of the members had that same question. But listen as the smartest member of MBC attacks (and gets attacked)!
This is another book which goes into my 'must-read' and 'all time favorite' list. Estranged teenager may be a cliched subject but this book portrays it in a unique way.
I always wondered how to express those moments in life that Holden felt in words. The inability to express them clearly also distances us from others and makes us appear anti-social. And we do not necessarily feel that way just in our teenage. We can have that phase in any time of our lives. Only difference is that the older we get it becomes easier for us to articulate those thoughts.
I loved reading this book. I could instantly connect with Holden. I found another book after Harper Lee's "To kill a mocking bird" which depicts brother-sisters affection with such innocence and honesty. It almost kills me ;) I have so many favorite moments and lines in the book that I have lost count. "What really knowcks me out is a book that when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it"
"When I really worry about something, I don;t just fool around. I even have to go to the bathroom when I worry about something. Only, I don't go. I'm too worried to go. I don't want to interrupt my worrying to go"
"It's funny. All you have to do is say something nobody understands and they'll do practically anything you want them to."
In short, the book is hilarious and well written. It grips you well. I recommend this one.