I shouldn’t even be posting this. I attempted to reread Catcher in the Rye and failed. I didn’t even make it 100 pages. It is, to use a friend’s imagery, like watching “dry paint.”

Reading Catcher in the Rye is to read the vapid thoughts of a sixteen-year-old dullard named Holden Caufield. Holden is lackluster, has lackluster conversations with his fellow teenagers, and doesn’t seem to like anybody or anything. The only time he shows any kind of enthusiasm is when some girl named Jane mentions him to his roommate. Naturally. But visiting an elderly teacher? This basically disgusts Holden, and you should be read how he describes the old man. I’m kidding, you really shouldn’t.

If anyone feels I really missed something by closing this novel well in advance of its 275 pages, please share your thoughts.

I have been rereading novels that folks tend to ooh and aah over. Frankenstein is a dud. The Great Gatsby is pointless. Lord of the Flies is okay, but is poorly received and (I suspect) poorly taught. And ol’ Catcher in the Rye I couldn’t even finish it’s so stupid.

Back to Orwell, Herodotus, and Virgil.

Should I read To Kill a Mockingbird? Anybody?

https://www.amazon.com/Catcher-Rye-J-D-Salinger/dp/0316769177/