J. D Salinger 1951
Holden Caulfield is a confused and troubled 17 year old, trying to find himself as he narrates the events of the days as well as some of his past experiences following his expulsion from Pencey Prep, Agerstown, Pennsylvania. The book is clever, subtly philosophical and definitely timeless. I found the language amusing and funny, 'it nearly killed me'.
"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, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, it you want to know the truth."
"Life is but a game, boy, life is but a game that one plays according to the rules... Game my ass. Some game. If you get on the side where all the hot-shots are, then it's a game, all right -- I'll admit that. But if you get on the other side, where there aren't any hot-shots, then what's a game about it? Nothing. No game."
""Well... they'll be pretty irritated about it." I said. "They really will. This is about the fourth school I've gone to." I shook my head. I shake my head quite a lot. "Boy!" I said. I also say "Boy!" quite a lot. Partly because I act quite young for my age sometimes."
"I hope not. I hope to hell not. I'd never yell "Good luck!" at anybody. It sounds terrible, when you think about it."
"What I like best is a book that's at least funny once in a while...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 feel like it."
"You ever pass by the lagoon in Central Park?...Well, you know the ducks that swim around in it? In the springtime and all? Do you happen to know where they go in the wintertime, by any chance?"
""Nothing's the matter." Boy, was I getting nervous. "The thing is, I had an operation very recently."
"Yeah? Where?"
"On my wuddayacallit-my clavichord."
"Yeah? Where the hell's that?"
"The clavichord?" I said. "Well, actually, it's in the spinal canal. I mean it's quite a ways down in the spinal canal.""
"The trouble with girls is, if they like a boy, no matter how big a bastard he is, they'll say he has an inferiority complex, and if they don't like him, no matter how nice a guy he is, or how big an inferiority complex he has, they'll say he's conceited. Even smart girls do it."
"Phoebe Weatherfield Caulfield. 4B-1. That killed me. Her middle name is Josephine, for God's sake, not Weatherfield. She doesn't like it, though. Every time I see her she's got a new middle name for herself."
"And besides. Even if you did go around saving guys' lives and all, how would you know if you did it because you really wanted to save guys' lives or, because you did it because what you really wanted to do was be a terrific lawyer, with everybody slapping you on the back and congratulating you in court when the goddam trial was over, the reporters and everybody, the way it is in the dirty movies? How would you know you weren't being a phony? The trouble is, you wouldn't".
""You know the song 'If a body catch a body comin' through the rye'? I'd like--
"It's 'If a body meet a body coming through the rye'!" old Phoebe said. It's a poem. By Robert Burns"."
"Among other things, you'll find that you're not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You're by no means alone on that score, you'll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept record of their troubles. You'll learn from them - if you want to. Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It's a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it is education. It's history. It's poetry."
Personal Note: Read in between cities of Brussels, Bruges and Antwerp, Belgium, May 8, 2010.
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