When I was a little, my mom would read to me almost every night. It was something that I always enjoyed; listening to different stories or the same ones over and over because they were my favorite. However, as I grew older, I started to drift away from reading and I wasn't sure why. I tried all different types of books and some caught my interest and some I just couldn't get past the second chapter. It wasn't until I was 16-years-old that I finally found my favorite piece of literature.
It was not a decision that I made on my own to read this book, I had to for my 11th grade English class, but this book is still my favorite after almost four years from the initial read. When I was first introduced to "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger, I was a little skeptical about it. I have heard of this book before because it's a classic and it was even mentioned in that song by Billy Joel, but it was an older book and I wasn't sure if I was going to like it or not. However, it only took reading the first page for me to become fascinated with this book.
For starters, I absolutely love the main character, Holden Caulfield. From talking to a few people who read this book, it's safe to say that Holden is the type of character where either you like him or you don't, you think he's annoying or brilliant, dumb or a genius. Holden is a pessimistic 16-year-old boy who is lost in the world he is living in. He is not really certain what his place is in the world or what the purpose is for everyone else that is in his life. It is clear that this teen has some issues and is not the biggest fan of people, but as you read on you start to see the real person that he is behind his "tough guy" facade. That person being someone who is capable of feeling upset and compassionate about others. To me, I felt that people could relate to Holden, maybe not as strongly, but his ideas about people are ideas that still exist in today's society. He talks about people being phony and that he hates phonies, he also describes people without sugar coating it and just tells it like it is.
Here is the major reason why I am in love with this book. I won't get into too much detail because getting to this part on your own is one of the best things about this book. There is a moment in the novel where Holden talks about change and how things never stay the same. To me, this has always been something that I struggle with and when I reached this part in the book I was hit pretty hard by it. I was amazed at the way Salinger wrote this story and the way that everything fit so perfectly to lead up to this realization by Holden and the reader.
For anyone who has not read this story yet, I encourage that you do. It is a classic and brilliant story that takes a fragile character and the struggle he is facing and displays it in an incredible way. I have never related to a novel as much as this one which is why it remains to be my favorite book.
