J.D. Salinger

[GP1]

Given what I see on this board, I'm not sure how many read very often, but a great author died this week...JD Salinger.Anyone who has ever read the great book, The Catcher in the Rye, may have had periods in their youth where they related to Holden Caulfield. I have attached a NY Tiimes article on Salinger and this is a link to The Catcher in the Rye quotes. If you have never read the book, it is one of the truely great books of the 20th Century and you should read it. If you have strolled through the melancholy pages of this book, I would encourage you to take a trip back to the feelings you may have had at times in your youth and reread it. Try to remember if you have ever wanted to be the catcher in the rye.Edit: Even The Onion mourns Salinger in their own way. The last sentence written as if by Salinger himself.

[Z.I.P.]

It's always been my interpretation that conservatives think Holden Caulfield was just a Goddam whiner, who grew into a hippy and lived at Haight Ashbury before eventually becoming a literature professor at Can't State. Liberals think the book was written about them.

[johnnyzip84]

I heartily concur on this one GP1. While JD's masterpiece (no, I don't mean the 2005 MAC championship this time around) was considered to be blatantly obscene by some when it was first released, I agree that CITR captures the essence of male teenage angst, uncertainty, confusion and self-doubt about as well as any book written before or since. In fact, I re-read the book not long ago, just to reacquaint myself with it as my own boys were entering early adulthood. The lingo might drive some of the younger people crazy for a little while, but that shouldn't detract from the story too much if you stay with it.

[GP1]

It's always been my interpretation that conservatives think

Very true.It is my interpretation that modern day "conservatives" actually think they are conservative..... Instead, they are big government liberals with half thought out, teetering on childish, religious views (George W. Bush or any Weekly Standard writer).

[GP1]

I heartily concur on this one GP1. While JD's masterpiece (no, I don't mean the 2005 MAC championship this time around) was considered to be blatantly obscene by some when it was first released, I agree that CITR captures the essence of male teenage angst, uncertainty, confusion and self-doubt about as well as any book written before or since. In fact, I re-read the book not long ago, just to reacquaint myself with it as my own boys were entering early adulthood. The lingo might drive some of the younger people crazy for a little while, but that shouldn't detract from the story too much if you stay with it.

Great post. There were many things considered blatantly obscene in the mid 20th century that are no longer considered so. For example, it was once considered obscene for people of different races to dring from the same water fountain. Dancing was once considered obscene. Jazz music was once considered obscene. Rock & Roll music was considered obscene. The list could go on and on......Our country is now better because these things are no longer considered obscene. Our country is better because The Catcher in the Rye was published. God Bless America!