Catcher in the Rye Depreciation Thread

Yeah, I loved it when I read it in high school.

But my second time through... that whiny little bastard just got in my nerves. Same way with On the Road. Holden Caulfield and Dean Moriarty. Two grade-A assholes.

Yeah, pretty much.

I still love Catcher in the Rye, though. On the Road, not so much. It was sort of the same feeling I got when, at the age of 24, I finally got around to reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenence.. I just kept thinking "man, if I'd read this when I was 15 or 16, it would have been a really great book."

[Edited on Feb 03, 2006 by Shalome]

sometimes it reads like a jcrew catalog. other times like on the road. other times like american psycho. i like it. i have a first edition (not signed of course).

Haters!!!!

Dean Moriarty was an asshole, but Sal Paradise? Hot damn!

OK, On the Road I'll grant you. But Catcher?!

You are dead to me.

Those are two books that I thought were revolutionary when I was a green, shiny lad. Now that I'm a jaded, bitter asshole who's drank and done more drugs than Keroac's liver, they just seem trite to me. Not to mention pretentious and too earnest. Catcher and On the Road both seem like the 19-year old kid you see in the all-night diner, smoking and writing in his journal because he can't afford LJ.

It's just like when I watched Reality Bites again!

Seriously, I still like Catcher in the Rye. Don't ruin it for me, dammit.

I have a Catcher in the Rye-related confession to make. I have owned 9 copies of that book.

1 borrowed from a friend and never returned
1 borrowed from my high school library and never returned
1 found on campus my freshman year of college
1 bought at the campus bookstore my junior year of college
5 bought at airports, read on flights, and subsequently left at destination airports for some traveller to pick up and read

I only have 1 copy in my house now. At one point, I had 3 different copies.

I have no idea why.

And no, I have no Mark David Chapman-like obsessions or compulsions.

[Edited on Feb 03, 2006 by Shalome]

holden caulfield is 15-years-old. he's supposed to get on your nerves. that's part of what makes it a great book.

sorry--i know this is supposed to be a depreciation thread. just my two cents...

ME TOO!

I've seriously bought that book at least 6 times and stolen it at least a couple more.

And I used to have the maroon cover, the hardback with the red and yellow and the paperback.

He is a whiney dickhole, but I like books with misanthropy, especially in the main character. That explains my fondness for Bukowski, whereas I usually can't stand hearing about drunks. Caulfield is also quite a hypocritical fuck as well.

has anyone read A&P by John Updike?

I appreciate that short story more than Catcher in the Rye...

edited because I found a link where you can read the story. It's pretty short. Wouldn't take you very long if you wanted to read it now.

[Edited on Feb 04, 2006 by CaptainTact]

But... it is...

holden caufield is kind of a whiney little bitch who thinks everyone is just a "phoney" but it was a good read.


as good as the book was, i still have mixed feelings on it because of the whole mark david chapman incident....but nobody can blame that soley on a stupid book. that guy was one crazy mofo.

Alright, I also have a confession. I've never read Cather in the Rye. I don't know how I missed it in high school, but it's never fallen into my hands since then, and I've never felt a great need to buy it.

Live more. Or, at least, live harder.

[Edited on Feb 04, 2006 by Shalome]

I hated Catcher in the Rye. I haven't read On the Road, yet. But I need to soon, before I outgrow it.

All i remember from High School book wise is Catcher and Black Boy.

You're all a bunch of goddam phonys!

I love Catcher in the Rye...I have bought and lost so many copies of that book...I do have a copy on my bookshelf and now protect it.

I love Catcher in the Rye. I couldn't get into On the Road, although I certainly tried. I liked Desolation Angels better, but now I can barely remember anything about it.

If you liked Desolation Angel, you should really try Dharma Bums. Clearly superior to On the Road.

I concur that you should read Dharma Bums. It's fucking amazing. Although you might want to try Tristessa. It's my personal favorite, and it's very short so if it bores the fuck out of you it won't last long.