Reading classic books…Catcher in the Rye.
That was several hours I will never get back.
The first part of the book kept my attention, mostly because I was shocked at the amount of cussing in a book with that old of a publication date, especially one that makes the “classics” list so many times. (However, the “banned” book lists do make a lot more sense) On the postive side, it is a great example of an anti-hero (if I am pulling the right term out of my brain), it has a very distinctive “voice”, and one of the clearest examples of an unreliable narrator. It is rather annoying and depressing to read though, at least as an adult. I probably would have thought it to be deep and insightful as a late teen, but it would not have been a good book for me to read at that age. I saw it described as one of the best books written on teenage angst…after reading it, I would say less “angst” and more “mental illness”.
Most of the time, after reading a book, I really wish I could sit down with the author and talk about the book and life in general. I have less than ZERO interest in ever meeting Salinger. I bet he is a less than easy person to be around.
The lesson here: not all classics are really worth the effort.
