Here are my thoughts.
Holden was one of the most divisive characters I have ever experienced. Through the first 3/5 of the book I was going back and forth between feeling sorry for him and wishing someone would put him in his place.
But I loved how nonchalantly Salinger fills you in on some of the horrible things that happened to Holden. Things such as, seeing the kid kill himself at school. Also, how a lot of men have tried to get "friendly" with him. Not to mention the death of his younger brother. These things would have been very damaging, but they are brought up in much the same way a 17 year old kid would deal with them. By burying their feelings and not dealing with them. I think these moments are the biggest insight into why Holden is the way he is (cynical and disenfranchised are understatements).
There is plenty of cursing throughout the book. However, I noticed that there was no "f-bomb" being dropped. Then towards the end Holden started seeing "F#@k You" written everywhere as a way to raising the tension and to show his deepening depression. When this started happening I just wanted to save Holden...I wanted to run in, grab him and take him somewhere safe and happy. It was amazingly effective.
Finally...the (almost) ending scene where he is watching his sister on the Merry Go Round...was one of the most beautiful scenes. I don't think it could be captured on film. It was like this beautiful Sun shining through the darkness of the rest of the book.
So yes, I highly recommend it. I'm not sure how I would have felt about this book in High School, but as a quasi-adult it was awesome.
Currently I'm reading Bill Bryson's "Neither Here Nor There: travels in europe". I'll let you know what I think.
2 comments:
Right on - I'm glad you enjoyed it. I think the coolest think about Holden is that nearly everyone (over the age of 12 or 13) can relate to him in some way or another. I think that he embodies the whole adolescent feeling of thinking that you know everything (please, I dare anyone to tell me they didn't think they knew everything at the age of 17) and that you can do things your own way and get by. Nice observations on the root of some of his attitude. I have a bad feeling that someone will make a movie now that Salinger has passed and the pressure is now on the family to become extremely rich if they sell the rights. I don't think I'd want to skew my mind's personal interpretation of these scenes though. Since the first read, I have opened the book to a random page and started reading and it is just like turning on the TV to a movie in the middle and fondly watching a scene before switching the channel ... I'd like to keep it that way.
Good to read your review.
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