This is a goddam book, it really is.

Catcher in the Rye...oh dear...

A couple of summers ago, I was a nanny for a family with several young children (we're talking 4 kids that were in kindergarten or younger) and one of them would add "it really is" or some variation thereof after every sentence that was the absolute truth. As in, "my favorite food is soup, it really is," or "I drew this for you! I really did!". This particular 3-year-old, however, had a hard time saying "r", so really it sounded like "my favo-wit food is soup, it wheely is." I can still hear her voice in my head to this day. And when I'm reading The Catcher in the Rye, this is what I am hearing every time Holden says "it really is," or any of its variations.

So far, I'm a little over a quarter through it. This seems amazing, as the rest of the books I've read have been considerably longer and thus have taking more than 52 pages to get a quarter of the way through them. Jane Eyre, for example, took 114. Gone With The Wind took 260! (which happens to be 45 pages longer than Catcher in the Rye!) So this book has been a quick read so far.

Not much has really happened, except for "goddam" every 2 or 3 words. I'm not offended or anything, it's just annoying because linguistically it's unnecessary. But I do see Salinger's point of using, which is to add to Holden's character as an angsty, skeptical teenager. So far Holden's told us a little about his life, how he got kicked out of school, went to see his professor, got in a fight in his dorm, and then left for the city. On the train he ran into someone's mom that he knew from school and gave her a load of crap about how awesome her son was. This is not the greatest book I've ever read but it's quick and easy to understand, and I have to admit I'm interested in what is going to happen to Holden. I've heard of a lot of people who REALLY REALLY WHEELY (haha) hate this book. So far I'm not sure why, but I'll keep reading and see if I can find out.

My favorite quote so far:
"What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it." (p. 18)

Interesting thought, original, and sort of true. I'm not sure what I would ask the authors I particularly like, or if Salinger would count as one (I'm not sure, I haven't read the entire book yet) but I'm pretty sure I wish I were friends with Tolstoy and Suzanne Collins (of the Hunger Games...if you haven't read it, you should!) and probably J. K. Rowling too. We'll see what other interesting souls come out of this project.

Off to read more Catcher in the Rye and see what dilemmas Holden gets into next. I really am!