[thelitguy]

About every six months or so, I go back to Salinger and decide all over again he very well might have been the best American writer of the modern period.

There's of course the Catcher in the Rye, but I don't think his strength lied in it. Of course it's a masterpiece, but I don't know how well it translates after you hit 18.

His in depth interest into creating the Glass family is just incredible to me. I can think of very few authors who have 90% of their published work dedicated to examining a single family. Not to mention all the genius that came in between that work.

It's such a tragedy he stopped publishing. I am certain once he dies, his family will sell out and release everything that's been going on for the past 50 years. But, then again, I don't know if I think that's the best way for things to go down.

Why don't some more people gush poetically about JD?

[Spaceman]

I've read The Catcher In The Rye and parts of Nine Stories. I like him a lot. I read "The Laughing Man" out of Nine Stories today but I don't think I really understood it very well, though. What was the relation between the story the Chief told and what happened with Mary Hudson?

[Mattlock]

I think lit. snobs look at him as too immature to gush poetically about him, just based on "Catcher in the Rye." But I haven't ever met any lit. snobs.

Holden is one of my favorite characters in any book, next to Ignatius Reilly.

[thelitguy]

I'm a total lit snob and believe that Catcher in the Rye is the most misunderstood book of the 20th century.

[slap_j]

Originally Posted by thelitguy

I'm a total lit snob and believe that Catcher in the Rye is the most misunderstood book of the 20th century.

Even more than a certain someone's wake?

[thelitguy]

Yes. Catcher in the Rye made everyone in the world think Salinger is a writer who randomly throws off curse words just to do it and is very shallow. In fact, it is Holden who does such things.

Where so many are not familiar with his other work, I think they believe everything he wrote was along the same lines, which is certainly not the case.

And as for that certain wake, no one understands it enough for it to be misunderstood.

[Than]

I loved Cather in the Rye. I know it takes a lot of flak for being "too relatable", that Salinger made an everyman who didn't feel like he fit in the system too broad, but whatever. What he called phony really and truly is. It was one of the earlier books that really got me into lit. ...you reminded me that I've always meant to read his other works.

[thelitguy]

It was one of the earlier books that really got me into lit

I would say it was the book that got me into lit. Period.

[Mattlock]

I would consider JD Salinger the Cobain/Nirvana of literature. Nirvana inspired many people to start playing/writing music, while Salinger inspired a lot of people to start reading/writing literature.

"A Perfect Day for Bananafish" is probably the greatest short story ever written. I was pretty shocked, as if I'd just seen the walls melt or something.

[thelitguy]

I also find his capturing of teen angst to be along the lines on Cobain. Granted, Salinger is god-like compared to Cobain.

[bread man]

Has anyone read Franny and Zooey?

[Kenny C.]

I recently read Franny and Zooey and it was a great, great read. Salinger's molding of the various Glass family's personas is amazing.

[JerRocks2day]

Say, I just read the Catcher and the Rye over the school year.

I also need help with a Final exam question that's going to feature the book.

Q: Choose one of the strangers Holden met and describe how he dealt with him or her.

[Kenny C.]

Oh wow, I wish I had a question like that on AP English test. It's so open ended, I would say that you really can't go wrong if you just simply do what the question asks you to do.

[thelitguy]

The open end AP question is so rock.