“I am always saying “Glad to’ve met you” to somebody I’m not at all glad I met. If you want to stay alive, you have to say that stuff, though.”
4/5 stars.
Paperback, 230 pages.
Read from December 13, 2016 to December 21, 2016.
If you know anything about my reading habits, it is that I like to read classics. I often feel like a neglectful reader and English major if there is a classic novel that I have not yet read so I try to work my way through as many as I can. While this book came with mixed reviews from the millions of people who have read it, I personally enjoyed this timeless novel.
Holden Caulfield is a teen on the brink of adulthood during 1949 in New York. Holden’s family is upper-middle class and as the eldest there is as a lot expected of him. Yet he fails to stay in the prestigious schools his parents keep enrolling him in. While Holden does well when he puts in the effort at school, he cannot seem to fake the persona needed to socialize and be successful in school. He is tired of the ‘phony’ people and these perceived necessary social constructs that he can neither understand and barely tolerate. His younger sister is the only person he feels he can be honest with as she is young enough to not be hindered by social constructs. After getting kicked out of yet another school, Holden decides to put off tell his folks for a while and shacks up in a cheap hotel for a few days. Excessive drinking, wandering, flirting and sex ensue as Holden waivers between childhood and adulthood over the phony aspects of people and society.
I believe a lot of people don’t understand how this book can be timeless, or perhaps don’t understand the big deal that this book became, and that is because in this day in age we all pretty much do what we want. In the 1950s, children were raised to do what they were told and to do what was expected of them. They were literally expected to be seen and not heard and were restricted in expressing their individuality. This struggle that Holden goes through spoke to a whole generation of frustrated people. Salinger’s work was the first to be this honest and the types of feelings he depicted lead to the revolutions that you see in the 1960s and 70s where free spirit and individuality started to take presence.
I believe this book is still timeless. Though we have that freedom of expression, Holden’s feelings of misplacement and being unsure with what to do in the next part of his life is practically universal for every youth. Even the constant questioning of the world around him is consistent with youth all over. While Holden’s story reflects a different era, his feelings cross generations.
I would recommend this novel for any classic novel who has not yet read it and for those looking for a pragmatic read.
The Pluviophile Writer 