• THE CATCHER IN THE RYE
• by J.D. Salinger
• [rated by PBS readers as #30]
• 277 Pages

8/16/20 – FIRST DAY

This pick was a no brainer. I picked four titles. This was the first of them. I was more interested in it than the others AND it was one of the 20 from this list that I had already bought, so no errands involved! It is way too hot for that.

Plus, I just saw an interesting documentary about Salinger, who was and is a dick. But hey. I won’t hold that against the book. It has been the most important book to

so many people that I’m anxious to partake of it.

LATER THAT NIGHT, 20 PAGES IN This is, I already have a feeling, a book that won’t stand the test of its hype. Or rather – it may well live up to it, but the shadows cast on it from years of adulation make it almost impossible to read cleanly.

I already find myself looking at his writing and thinking – that’s a good description of whatever…not great, but good. And then, as I am reading, I can’t help but wonder – would I be flabbergasted by this if I didn’t know its history?

I do think that the novel, in its entirety, will end up allowing me to see through those lenses that I, as well as the culture, have put on it. And if it is extraordinary, I hope I will see that in it.

Till then, it is a pleasant read for 20 pages. The antihero of the story, Holden Caulfield, is well imagined and I am looking forward to sashaying along with him for a bit…

10/17/20 I know. A whole lot of time has passed. We’ve been sheltered now for the better part of a year. This has exacerbated my need for distraction. Unfortunately, that need has dovetailed into my need to read four books at a time. Ah well. That doesn’t seem to be changing any time soon…

I don’t know why I would be surprised in the least that any book on this list would surprise me. They pretty much all have!

The novelty to Salinger’s writing approach must have seemed amazing if you read this in high school and especially at the time it came out. I am keenly aware, perhaps more for this book than any other one so far on the list, that the time this came out and the reaction that it triggered is too far in the past to awaken. Many writers since then have copied Salinger in one way or another. And many have done a great job!

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao felt amazingly original in its writing style. But that’s because it never got folded into the culture. This did.

Okay, so it is amazing that the whole book is continuous in action. You really do feel immersed. It is amazing that you stay interested, even though Holden’s transformation is syrup-slow in coming out (in fact it really happens after the book).

Salinger had the confidence to cut an incredibly thin slice of the pie out and examine it for the length of the book.

I don’t think I would ever disagree that this is a good book. But sadly, the lateness of my reading it is too late for me to elevate it to the greatness that it obviously deserves.

Almost wish I’d had the chance to read this between Jane Austin and Beowulf. I’m sure I would have gone crazy for it…