The Catcher in the Rye is, apparently, a classic of (American) English literature. It appears on reading lists in schools all over the world. Will someone please explain to me why?
The writing style is – I suppose – not too bad. It’s written very conversationally in the first person from the viewpoint of a young man who’s just been expelled from his umpteenth private school. He’s obviously short of a few brain cells as well, judging by his attitude to a lot of things.
Set in, I guess, the 1950’s means the language is a little archaic but I don’t mind that – I’m currently ploughing through more Conan Doyle and loving it. It’s the repetition, and the rambling nature of the prose that gets so tiring after a while. Oh, and the fact that bugger all really happens.
It’s “a day in the life” of someone I really don’t care about. I didn’t at the start, and I still don’t now I’m finished it. Had it been much bigger, it would have been discarded by the time I got past the mid-point.
Mind you, I guarantee my old English teacher likely got a hard-on reading it. But that guy was a ******* freak who seemed to love everything that you’re “supposed” to love – Shakespeare, Chaucer and the like.
If you want to read a classic, check out the Sherlock Holmes stories – although even they get a little tired after a while, around the time Doyle himself was writing them purely for cash. I’d only read this if I had to as part of an English course. And even then I’d shop around to see if there was another tutor with a different reading list.
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Oh, is is that bad? I’ve been wanting to read it only because it’s supposedly a “must read” according to popular belief, as you said. Won’t be in a hurry now.
And yup, Sherlock Holmes is DA THING, maaan! Lost count of how many times I’ve read those. Especially the short stories.
Yes, it’s that bad. Rambling, tedious, repetitive and utterly pointless at the end. Nothing really happens. A day in the life of a stuck-up 16 year old, basically.
It’s never been on my Classics To Read list and from what you say, I’m unlikely to include it. That’s the problem with the classics, they do tend to drag on a bit. Even Lord of The Rings, (which started me off reading fantasy tomes) gets tedious in parts; modern books tend to be a lot pacier.
I think I’ve only ever read one Sherlock Holmes story, probably during my early teens. Recommend one and I’ll try to read it this year!
Can’t agree more on LotR. If it was written more like The Hobbit (i.e. less tedious waffle for the majority of the second volume) then it’d be far better. Want to save yourself about 1200 pages and still read the exact same story? Get hold of Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks. And then wonder how the Tolkein estate hasn’t sued him a million times over for plagiarism.
As for a Holmes story, I’d definitely recommend Hound of the Baskervilles – a classic. You can get all the stories by buying four of the Wordsworth Classics series, or digging out a “Compleat” edition somewhere. The short stories are just that – though they do get a little tired as they go on. The first volume is by far the best.
I’ve read most of the Shannara books and yes, very similar to Tolkein’s books.
Might check out Hound of the Baskervilles – but it’s a short story? For some reason, I find I can’t read more than a couple of short stories before I quickly find that I need a far bigger story to get my teeth into…
“Hound” is one of the few novels. I think there are only three. It’s still quite a short book, though – maybe 150 pages?
See, I quite enjoyed Catcher In The Rye. But then, I love The Bell Jar too. And Girl, Interrupted. I’m sure when I get round to reading One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest I’ll love that.
Noticing a theme here? Maybe I just like books about crazy people?!
See, I quite enjoyed Catcher In The Rye. But then I love The Bell Jar and Girl, Interrupted. I’m looking forward to reading One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest.
Maybe I just like books by/about crazy people?!
Talia – because you *are* a crazy person, perhaps? I am starting to become wary of so-called “classics” as they’ve been more miss than hit when I’ve dug them out.
Mind you, I do still want to get hold of To Kill A Mockingbird. One of the few I remember enjoying at school. So, of course, we only got halfway through it.