[J m HofMarN]

I am reading the catcher in the rye. Wow. It's the most incredible book I've ever read and I think I like Holden just as much as I like Don Quixote or the preacher in The Grapes of Wrath. Bravo, Salinger, Bravo. Has anyone else had the pleasure of reading this?

[Just your average movie goer]

I have and I second that motion. The other great thing about it is that this is a book that was written around fifty years ago... and it feels so fresh that it could have been written yesterday. A great novel, for sure.

[jariten]

i first read it when i was 16 and it absolutly killed me. its just so true, and so naturally delivered. its also funny, the narrative is tight and its incredibly readable. i wrote my dissertation on Salinger at university. you'd be surprised how little critical work has been done on him. Horfman, have you read anything else? Nine Stories for instance??

[SimeSublime]

I haven't read it, nor any of the other books you mentioned. But I belive Grapes of Wrath was written by the same person who wrote Of Mice and Men, which I really disliked.

[Just your average movie goer]

What does that have to do with the price of fish in China?

[SimeSublime]

I was just feeling left out

[Just your average movie goer]

Ah... fair enough.

[Creaux]

I dunno, I wasn't to impressed by catcher . I think I came into it with high expectations, though.

Then again, "everything is shitty" isn't exactly my favorite topic in art, and that's what I remember getting as the gist of the book.

[J m HofMarN]

Jariten- I agree completely, the novel is very fresh and it sounds like it's just a conversation between you and the author rather than the author dictating to you. I havnt read any of his other works but I will.


"I haven't read it, nor any of the other books you mentioned. But I belive Grapes of Wrath was written by the same person who wrote Of Mice and Men, which I really disliked."

Trust me, G of W is a whole lot different then Mice and Men. It's a way more uplifting tone. Whereas in Mice you get constant opportunities and dreams that always crumble to nothing, in Grapes what you see is just the pure indefatiguable will of the human spirit to persevere, and the triumph of humanity over seemingly impossible odds and divides both man made and earthly. Steinbeck paints a poignant and detailed picture of American life during the depression, that is writhe with socialist undertones and themes of love, inequality, exploitation, and the victory of the working classes that Steinbeck was prophysising.

"Then again, "everything is shitty" isn't exactly my favorite topic in art, and that's what I remember getting as the gist of the book."

That wasn't the theme of the novel at all. Didn't you notice how Holden would slander people for being phonie but at the same time show the utmost concern for them and even go out of his way to help phonie people he seemed to hate? Holden lashes out at the world in general because he is drawn between two poles: his incredible regard for all other life (IE writing Stradlater's paper, letting someone have his mittens, giving ten dollars to the nuns and even worrying over where the ducks go in the winter)

However he also has a darker side, a side that is angry with the world because of Allie's death. This manifests in his dislike of, well, everyone. But its clear to see that his kindhearted self is the dominant side even if he may act as if he's terribly jaded. We see the battle raging inside Holden on numerous occasions and it tends to manifest in a general eccentricality that can often make it seem as if Holden is a little nuts.

In the end what we see is the victory of the good Holden as he truly does become the catcher in the rye. This book is very uplifting and I don't see how anyone could dislike Holden unless they misunderstood him.