Five books that changed Andy Griffiths

Andy Griffiths is one of Australia’s most popular children’s authors. Over the last 20 years his books have been New York Times bestsellers, adapted for the stage and television and won more than 50 Australian children’s choice awards.

One of five books that changed him, as shared at the Sydney Morning Herald:

THE CATCHER IN THE RYE
J.D. Salinger

This novel is still as funny, sad and, occasionally, as shocking as it was back in 1950. Although it expresses the author's disillusionment with the world, the character of Holden Caulfield is so alive and compelling that I have to remind myself he's just a character in a book and not somebody that I used to know or, for that matter, be.

Read about another book on the list.

The Catcher In The Rye appears on Chris Pavone's list of five books that changed him, Gabe Habash's list of the 10 most notorious parts of famous books, Robert McCrum's list of the 10 best books with teenage narrators, 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