Stories

Catcher in the Rye

"Grand. There's a word I really hate. It's a phony." ~ J. D. Salinger

Catcher in the Rye. There's a Grand book. It's a phony.

I tried to read Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger three times before finally finishing it. I muddled my way through it not long ago, and I was unimpressed. I thought it sucked, Mightily!

Everything I read or that I watched references this book. Mentioning it to a few Cadets, I got lots of favorable comments - deep, great book, and one of my favorites. I thought, OK, there must be something to it.  So, I dug into it the fourth time with renewed determination, convinced I would find something of value.

Nope!

I found nothing wise or redeeming. There were no paths to follow and no wisdom. I read intently what Mr. Antonelli had to say to the little prat, hoping for something, which is what I got, very little something.  I thought there would be some conclusion to make my muddling worth the struggle. Salinger gave me, "Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you’ll start missing everybody."  Whoa! How Deep!  It was as if JD tired of writing, scratched his chin, and asked himself, How do I end this waste of paper?

That is Catcher in the Rye, a waste of paper, the story of a little malcontent with no more reason to live on the earth than a tick or flea. It was a waste of my time. I have decided that people say this trash is a great book because they have always heard it is. I am willing to bet that most have never actually read it.

The whole time I read, "I kept picturing myself catching" JD Salinger "and how I’d smash his head on the stone steps till he was good and goddam dead and bloody. But I knew, too, I wouldn’t have the guts to do it. I knew that. That made me even more depressed."