Read about another novel on the list.The Catcher in the Rye
JD Salinger
Holden Caulfield’s opening bid for our attention, echoing Huck Finn’s, is just as edgy: “If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like.” He’s writing from a rest home, where he can indulge “this madman stuff”. Originally published for adults, Catcher has become popular with adolescent readers for its themes of teenage confusion, angst, alienation and rebellion. Holden refuses to discuss his early life because he is bored by “all that David Copperfield kind of crap”.
The Catcher In The Rye appears on Antoine Wilson's list of the 10 best narrators in literature, A.E. Hotchner's list of five favorite coming-of-age tales, Jay McInerney's list of five essential New York novels, Woody Allen's top five books list, Patrick Ness's top 10 list of "unsuitable" books for teenagers, David Ulin's six favorite books list, Nicholas Royle's list of the top ten writers on the telephone, TIME magazine's list of the top ten books you were forced to read in school, Tony Parsons' list of the top ten troubled males in fiction, Dan Rhodes' top ten list of short books, and Sarah Ebner's top 25 list of boarding school books; it is one of Sophie Thompson's six best books. Upon rereading, the novel disappointed Khaled Hosseini, Mary Gordon, and Laura Lippman.
--Marshal Zeringue
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