J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye is one of those books that I think almost everyone has read. At least, it feels that way. I've heard about the book almost all my life. I finished the last book I was reading and saw Salinger's sitting on the bookshelf.
I figured it was about time I read this classic.
It turned out to be nothing like I expected...
Except for the profanity. I think I knew about that.
I finished the book just before Christmas which, as it turns out, was exactly the timeframe written in the book. Holden Caulfield, the prep-school reject makes his way home the week before he would have been released for Christmas break. The book revolves around the young man's journey home and his thoughts (so many of his thoughts...) along the way.
As I read the story, I kept returning to a coming-of-age story I've written and that I actually need to re-write. I could easily see my story being written in the same manner, first-person from the boy's perspective. It could definitely work for my story. In fact, I think it made reading Salinger's that much more enjoyable for me. I really liked his style
Another interesting aspect of the book for me was the ending. Usually with a book you can tell when the ending is drawing near. With this story, I had a couple of chapters left and I had no idea how it would end. Would Holden head out West? Would he face his parents after another failed attempt at school? Would he end up with one of the many girls he talked about? There was just no way to know.
Personally, I liked the non-eventful ending. It was sort of like Holden's story. We're placed in the middle of his life and the story stops, still in the middle. I enjoyed the book, but I'm glad I waited until now to read it.
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