Reply #7: Glad to see I'm not the only one [View All]

[caraher]

I never related at all to the character despite being in many ways part of the "target demographic." When I read it in high school it wasn't painful to read, it just left me cold. I re-read it recently when one of my sons read it, and I liked it a bit more. But it still didn't do much for me.

I think The Onion's obit is all that needs to be said:

Bunch Of Phonies Mourn J.D. Salinger

CORNISH, NH—In this big dramatic production that didn't do anyone any good (and was pretty embarrassing, really, if you think about it), thousands upon thousands of phonies across the country mourned the death of author J.D. Salinger, who was 91 years old for crying out loud. "He had a real impact on the literary world and on millions of readers," said hot-shot English professor David Clarke, who is just like the rest of them, and even works at one of those crumby schools that rich people send their kids to so they don't have to look at them for four years. "There will never be another voice like his." Which is exactly the lousy kind of goddamn thing that people say, because really it could mean lots of things, or nothing at all even, and it's just a perfect example of why you should never tell anybody anything.