leonardoprause

WARNING: I read this novel for class, so that might have detracted from the experience some. I didn't mind this story. It wasn't exactly riveting. But the writing was quite nice to read sometimes. Just the way the dialogue was used - like something that was truly said, not just written. Like Salinger had actually recorded the conversations and wrote down what he heard. The real disappointment, for me, was Holden Caulfield himself. I could appreciate his sarcastic, almost deadpan sense of humour, but I find it difficult to read a book of self-pity - which this one has no shortage of! Holden is quite irritating, setting my teeth on edge at times when he is paranoid or socially inept. I always felt like he was just looking for an outlet for all his whining. I could not become sympathetic to this character, but it wasn't completely unbearable. It would have been better had Holden had a more significant character arc and stopped calling everything "phoney." Two stars for not boring me to death, three off for not helping me to care at all.

2023-06-23 07:00