"All the kids kept trying to grab for the gold ring, and so was old Phoebe, and I was sort of afraid she'd fall off the goddam horse, but I didn't say anything or do anything. The thing with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but it's bad if you say anything to them."
J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye
Normally I would bring you Happy Friday on the last day of the working week, but today I'd like to pay tribute to J.D. Salinger who died on Wednesday.
Here is what the New York Times had to say:
"Mr. Salinger’s literary reputation rests on a slender but enormously influential body of published work: the novel “The Catcher in the Rye,” the collection “Nine Stories” and two compilations, each with two long stories about the fictional Glass family: “Franny and Zooey” and “Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction.”
“Catcher” was published in 1951, and its very first sentence, distantly echoing Mark Twain, struck a brash new note in American literature: “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, if you want to know the truth.”
I don't pretend to be a literary expert, but I love reading and books. I am named after Phoebe Caulfied, Holden's younger sister and the book has had a long lasting influence on my life.
R.I.P, J.D. Salinger.
'It was that kind of a crazy afternoon, terrifically cold, and no sun out or anything, and you felt like you were disappearing every time you crossed a road.'
J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye
9 comments:
i just did a similar post myself. i was so affected by this book. i think a lot of people were/are...it's a masterpiece.
Because 'Catcher in the Rye' was banned from my southern, conservative Georgia high-school I immediately had to find a copy and read it. I loved it, not only because it was a great book but it made me realize how stupid the people running my school system were. I also loved 'The Bell Jar', the book Sylvia Plath wrote in Salinger's style; she loved him too.
I absolutely love Catcher In The Rye. And I just bought a first edition (for a bargain price!) of Franny and Zooey which I have just started reading.
The death of Salinger is a great loss. He was such a brilliant writer.
x
(That's so cool that you were named after Phoebe from Catcher in the Rye)
Dear LM
Wow, I am fan too and I haven't heard that news. Very sad.
You should keep your eyes out for his short stories - they are really wonderful and very funny.
Love the cover you have found by the way - fabulous - I have not seen that one before.
Best wishes, Maria, Vintage Suburbia
beautiful book.
i hadn't heard the news.
thankyou for posting such great quotes!
It is so sad, I had to find out through twitter which is also quite sad. Catcher is such a e beautiful book, I will never forget the train trips I took with that book.
"When I really worry about something I don't just fool around. I even have to go to the bathroom when I worry about something. But, I don't go. I'm too worried to go. I don't want to interrupt my worrying. "
XXASAB
I'm so sad about his passing. :( Catcher in the Rye had such a huge influence on my life. I remember reading it in high school for the first time, and being completely blown away. R.I.P JD. Thanks for making High School Me feel understood. :)
http://playingdressupwithkellie.blogspot.com/
The Catcher in the Rye is probably my favourite book of all time. It is one of those books that instantly draws you in from the first sentence. I can't believe I hadn't heard that J.D. Salinger had died.
Post a Comment