75 years! I enjoyed this write up, a lot.
"If it’s not too late, read it early in life – as part of a varied literary diet – then read it again after a couple of decades, and see how the text has transformed."
I remember reading Catcher in the Rye back at university and relating to Holden a little too much:
"First, when you’re about Holden Caulfield’s age, you should read it uncritically – or rather, you should be critical the way Holden is. You should share his dismissal of the adult world and the popular kids as phony, and so on. You should feel “seen”. You may or may not leave this first encounter wanting a peaked red hunting cap with earflaps."
And in subsequent readings, during different parts of my life, discovered how cringe and phoney Holden actually was, and of course after hearing about what a crumby dude J.D. Salinger was.
It is a staggering piece of literature though. Maybe I'll pick up my old tattered copy again. Maybe not.
https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-the-catcher-in-the-rye-is-75-and-every-time-i-meet-holden-caulfield-i-see-him-anew-272342
Joshua "Headless" Byrd 🎃
npub1m0…umqsy
2026-10-04 02:40:28 UTC
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wss://relay.momostr.pinkPublished at
2026-10-04 02:40:28 UTCEvent JSON
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"content": "75 years! I enjoyed this write up, a lot.\n\n\"If it’s not too late, read it early in life – as part of a varied literary diet – then read it again after a couple of decades, and see how the text has transformed.\"\n\nI remember reading Catcher in the Rye back at university and relating to Holden a little too much:\n\n\"First, when you’re about Holden Caulfield’s age, you should read it uncritically – or rather, you should be critical the way Holden is. You should share his dismissal of the adult world and the popular kids as phony, and so on. You should feel “seen”. You may or may not leave this first encounter wanting a peaked red hunting cap with earflaps.\"\n\nAnd in subsequent readings, during different parts of my life, discovered how cringe and phoney Holden actually was, and of course after hearing about what a crumby dude J.D. Salinger was.\n\nIt is a staggering piece of literature though. Maybe I'll pick up my old tattered copy again. Maybe not. \n\nhttps://theconversation.com/friday-essay-the-catcher-in-the-rye-is-75-and-every-time-i-meet-holden-caulfield-i-see-him-anew-272342",
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