I shouldn’t be surprised that JD Salinger died. After all, he was 91 years old. When I told a friend of mine that he had died, she said, “Really? I thought he was dead alredy.” I think this is the first “celebrity” that I actually feel sad about. I mean, I feel sad when anyone dies and having so many celebrities that I grew up watching (eg Michael Jackson) pass away was a strange feeling. But JD Salinger, he’s in his own category. “The Catcher in the Rye” is the only book I’ll read over and over again. It’s the only book that I can flip to any page and just start from there. It is my favorite book, the reason I started writing, and it’s weird to think that he’s gone now.

Most of my teen years and even sometimes now, I feel like Holden Caulfield. In high school, we read “The Catcher in the Rye” in English class. Our teacher would assign us parts to read and we’d read the book aloud in class. On most days, he’d ask me read as Holden and told me later I reminded him of him. I took this as a compliment and on most days, I still do. Years later when I mentioned that, one of my college professors said it wasn’t actually a compliment. I could see her reasoning, but even now I disagree.

To me, Holden Caulfield represented the voice of a generation. He was far from perfect, still emotionally immature for his age, but you felt connected to him. And years later, I still do. “The Catcher in the Rye” was the reason I started writing. Salinger helped me find my voice, my style.

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3 Comments » Posted: January 28th 2010
Filed under: Random Thoughts