12 Classics: The Catcher in the Rye

I managed to squeeze another "classic" in this month besides everything else I've been reading!  The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger makes all of the "Top books of the last century" lists I see and was on my AP reading list back in high school. I remember my peers recommending it, but I never got around to it until now.

The story is about 16 year old Holden Caulfield (what a great name!) who, at the beginning of the book, is expelled from yet another fancy all-boys boarding school. Over the next few days he leaves school but instead of going home, wanders around New York City. He has a series of meetings and conversations with various people, but nothing much really happens.

Honestly, I can't say that I enjoyed it at all. The book is narrated in the first person from Holden's point of view, and includes all of his speech patterns, which I found annoying and immature. The plot is rambling at best, lagging at worst. Holden is aimless and depressing, and I wanted to smack him more than once during the book.

I'm a little bit sad that I didn't read this back in high school, because I think I might have actually enjoyed it--or at least appreciated it more. Not that I was ever anything like Holden, but I knew people who were. I can understand why many of my whiny, angsty, smart guy-friends in high school cited it as their favorite book of all time, and I can see the merits of the book as a story about trying to find oneself and failing at every corner. However, between the narration, the aimlessness, and the lack of connection I felt with Holden, I didn't enjoy it and I probably won't reread it if I can help it.