With the recent death of its author, J.D. Salinger, I felt that it was time to finally do something I have been intending to do for years, read his classic. I was disappointed. Maybe it was because I had high expectations after all the hype. Maybe it was because I kept expecting something to happen, you know, the classic building action, climax, resolution thing. This book is nothing like this.
Written about a couple of days in the life of a teen who was newly expelled from yet another private high school, the author explores the traditionally pessimistic, skeptic, somewhat depressing view that youth has about the world created by his predecessors. Written with plenty of voice, this book is an enjoyable read, as the reader waits for something to develop. I could almost hear the voice of this book’s contemporary, Jack Kerouac, in the pages. But nothing does happen. Maybe that was the author’s point. In any case, I found that disappointing.