Catcher in the Rye

[DvChWi]

Oh, Afro... you're reading MY FAVORITE NOVEL OF ALL TIME.

Enjoy. I'm sure you will.

Catcher is your all time favorite?  I read it, and I found that I couldn't really relate to Holden most of the time.  He began to annoy me with his excessive moodiness and impulsive decisions.  For me, it's hard to enjoy the book because the main character is so foreign to me most of the time.  Many teens have had the opposite experience with this book, but not me.  Still, though, I'm glad I read it because it helped me at least know what the book was about, and allowed me to be able to discuss like I am now.

Now, as far as the actualt topic goes, I'm stilling going through the Hitchhiker's books, which are great.  I love this guy's sense of humor.

[Josh]

I had just the opposite experience with Holden, Dv. While I myself am probably not quite as impuslive as he is, I sure can relate to his cynicism, and sometimes his sense of alienation, as well. He's my favorite literary character of all time, which is a big part of why I love the book so much. (Although I also love the language of the book, which is entirely its own).

[DvChWi]

I sure can relate to his cynicism

So can I, but this quickly becomes negated the next time he does something rash.  The attitude and feelings I can somewhat relate to( though I never feel any of this to the extreme that Holden does), but the ways he acts on them make no sense to me.

[Josh]

So can I, but this quickly becomes negated the next time he does something rash.  The attitude and feelings I can somewhat relate to( though I never feel any of this to the extreme that Holden does), but the ways he acts on them make no sense to me.

Well, it's a story. Things are exaggerated. I think Salinger would be the first to tell you that no, most people don't act that way in real life. But he uses hyperbole to emphasize certain facets of Holden's personality, and of the society around him.

Not that I'm trying to change your mind or anything-- I can understand why many people wouldn't like the book. It's certainly not for everyone; the profanity alone makes it unsuitable for most readers.

[DvChWi]

Not that I'm trying to change your mind or anything

And neither am I.  I'm no going to say "No!  It's not really your favorite novel, your favorite is actually Les Miserables" or anything like that.  I was just curious as to how it wound up at the top of your list when it felt rather flat to me.  

[Josh]

It's really hard for me to explain why I love it so much... I dunno, I guess the character and the story just resonate with me for some reason.

I also love the fact that, though the book deals with some extremely heavy topics and is essentially a step-by-step look at a teenager having a nervous breakdown, it's never depressing or dispiriting. It's written with so much humor and heart that it's actually enjoyable to read, at least to me.

And, as I said before, I also love the language of the book. It's written in a language all its own, really; I can't think of anything else that really compares.

[glatisant]

It seems like most people who read the book have an either-or reaction to Holden: they either relate to and sympathize with his plight, or they think he's an annoying hypocrite.  Myself, I do think he's whiny and self-absorbed a lot of the time (which teenager isn't?), but how can you help but like a kid who wants to call up Isak Dinesen and donates money to nuns with straw baskets?

My own reaction to the book is probably complicated by the fact that I originally read it in Chinese.  If you think lines like "I mean most girls are so dumb and all.  After you neck them for a while, you can really watch them losing their brains.  You take a girl when she really gets passionate, she just hasn't any brains" or "In my mind, I'm probably the biggest sex maniac you ever saw" are funny in English, try reading them in late-'60s Chinese slang.  To this day, I can't get through the scene where Holden dances with the three women in the hotel bar without cracking up.  And reading about Ackley always makes me want to go brush my teeth.

I'm no going to say "No! It's not really your favorite novel, your favorite is actually Les Miserables" or anything like that.

Hey, that's my favourite novel!  Or very close to it, at any rate.

[bethany]

I love The Catcher In The Rye. Actually, I love all the Salinger I've read, especially Franny and Zooey. The short stories are great as well.

When I was in highschool, my English teacher had another class do projects where they read a book, then made some sort of visual art response to it. One girl read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and then made a little wardrobe with clothing hanging in it, and had things written on the clothing about the book, etc.  I told my teacher I really wished I was in that class, because I would read Catcher and then write "fuck you" on the school wall. I thought it was one of the most brilliant ideas I ever had, but he didn't seem so amused by it.  =)  

[Josh]

It seems like most people who read the book have an either-or reaction to Holden: they either relate to and sympathize with his plight, or they think he's a annoying hypocrite.

How is he ever hypocritical?

[glatisant]

How is he ever hypocritical?

Well, there's the time when he tells Ackley that Stradlater is actually a pretty good guy, just to annoy him.  That could be considered "phony," as Holden pretty much despises his roommate (not that I blame him, really).  He also goes along with the small talk that he hates from other people.  That's pretty much normal and unavoidable behavior, but he doesn't seem to realize that when he sees others doing it.
And some people might think it's hypocritical of him to trash his fellow classmates for their treatment of Ackley, when he pretty much thinks the same way about the latter.  Personally, I think he's more decent to Ackley than most, but I can see why some would think that.

[Josh]

Read through Franny and Zooey for the second time this week and enjoyed it even more than the first time. Might be a Top 10 favorite of mine.

It can be a pretty hard book to get your head around, though. Bethany, and others who may have read it... what did you like about it?