Not everyone likes Catcher as much as I do, but I read it at the right time in my life and the right time in history. I've read it a number of times since, and I like it just as much as ever. I love the Nine Stories, too.
Salinger died of natural causes at his home on Wednesday, the author's son said in a statement from Salinger's literary representative. He had lived for decades in self-imposed isolation in the small, remote house in Cornish, N.H.
'The Catcher in the Rye,' with its immortal teenage protagonist, the twisted, rebellious Holden Caulfield, came out in 1951, a time of anxious, Cold War conformity and the dawn of modern adolescence. The Book-of-the-Month Club, which made 'Catcher' a featured selection, advised that for 'anyone who has ever brought up a son' the novel will be 'a source of wonder and delight - and concern.'"
12 comments:
I read it at an impressionable age too, Bill, and liked it a lot. And I liked the stories, which I read decades later, as well.
Jeff
I read somewhere that he had been writing for decades and that there is a goldmine of unpublished material. It will be interesting to see what comes to light.
Oh, no - Salinger gone too!
Another author created a sequel (have not read this, it's also not authorized) - 60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye.
There is no wrong time in history to read Catcher in the Rye. My 30-year-old daughter loves it as much as I do. And, yes, Jeff, the stories are great, too.
I read it so long ago I forget a lot of it. It's on my list of books to reread before I croak.
My favorites were always "Franny And Zooey" and "It's A Perfect Day For Bananafish.". Good stuff!
I just reread Catcher in the Rye about six months ago and appreciated it more than the first time (in high school). I loved the short stories and must go back to them now. I hope there is more material and that it will be published.
Me, too, but only if it's good.
At one point, Jerry Lewis rallied hard to direct the movie version, with himself playing Holden. I kid you not.
Now that could have been . . . strange.
I tried reading CATCHER at 18 and again last year at 59. Each time, I got about 3 chapters in and lost interest.
What am I missing?
Probably nothing. Lots of people feel that way about the book.
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