RIP J.D. Salinger

We were assigned The Catcher in the Rye to read in the 10th grade. Our English teacher, Mr Bennett, told us it was a controversial book but I never saw it that way, unless being controversial also means that by reading it you will be made to think. No question the book succeeded in this regard. This is the sort of novel it is for many people I have spoken with.

It did have some swearing in it but I heard worse in the schoolyard so didn't see the big deal. It also had a scene suggesting that one of Holden Caulfield's teachers was a drunk, and maybe even a pedophile. Though we didn't delve too deeply into these topics in the 10th grade.

I have since read all of Salinger's novels and short stories. I have re-read only The Catcher in the Rye, and that I have done too many times to count. I've found it isn't important to read it from beginning to end because I usually just want to read it in order to feel again some of the sentiments I had the first time I read it. I especially like the beginning where Holden is introducing himself and later the prep school scenes. His train ride home late at night after leaving school is hilarious in his attempts to act smooth in front of the mother of one of his former classmates.

According to the Canadian Broadcasting obituary of Salinger:

"The Catcher in the Rye was reprinted eight times within the first two months of its publication and spent 30 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. It still sells about 250,000 copies a year."