Interesting that his father, the son of a rabbi, imported cheese and ham... And that after writing what became one of the greatest books in the world, that Salinger became such a recluse...
When I read "Catcher" as a smart-alecky teen, I fell in love with Holden Caulfield, his droll sense of humor, and devil-may-care attitude... When I read it as an adult, I wanted to help the Holdens of the world find something to care about... I wonder if I ever succeeded...
But the main thing is that it's one of those rare texts that is unflinchingly honest... And so true in fact that terms like 'the new 'Catcher in the Rye' have been applied to countless similar works since... Rarely have these efforts ever compared to the original in timelessness and candor... And I love the fact that Salinger would not allow "Catcher in the Rye" to be adapted to film... As he wrote:
..."Holden Caulfield himself, in my undoubtedly super-biassed opinion, is essentially unactable. A Sensitive, Intelligent, Talented Young Actor in a Reversible Coat wouldn't nearly be enough. It would take someone with X to bring it off, and no very young man even if he has X quite knows what to do with it. And, I might add, I don't think any director can tell him."
Holden would agree... His older brother D.B. - who he says is is off in Hollywood, writing screenplays, and he thinks that he is prostituting his talent by doing so, becoming a sellout...
If more authors felt this way, they would probably a) write better books and b) not be so eager to sell out just to make a buck... Maybe this is my biased L.A.-bred opinion, but most people here seem to be more impressed by a book when it becomes a movie than when it is just a really fine book...
As our hero says in chapter 14, "The goddam movies. They can ruin you. I'm not kidding."
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