Maybe it is time to dial back our enthusiasm for classic novels with a checkered past and banal storylines.
Sometimes all it takes is a little controversy. J.D. Salinger inadvertently created controversy around his first published novel “The Catcher In The Rye” by crafting a contrast between individual experience and societal change. His main character’s use of inappropriate and foul language led to several removals from school curriculums while, at the same time, being subscribed to the school curriculums of many others for its brilliant depiction of childhood emotions and the struggle of adolescents. In essence, the Catcher in the Rye is about protecting the innocence of young life. It can be seen as a critique of society or merely as an autobiographical account (Salinger recanted his early statements that his main character Holden Caulfield was tailored after his own childhood). Frankly, I wasn’t moved when I was forced to read this book as a teenager and I’m not moved by it twenty years later. Maybe another few decades will make me view it differently, but for now, I question the Catcher in the Rye’s status as a classic. It is incoherent writing. It fails to establish gravitas or emotional trust in the main character’s thoughts and actions. It seems to me to be a book that was published a lifetime ago when the baby boomers were changing social structure forever, and not for the better. Salinger is a product of this generation. Some of his experience translates into younger generations, but I couldn’t relate. I really wanted to find myself in this book, however, I am glad that I didn’t.