I have somehow managed to get through nearly two decades of life (ack) without reading The Catcher in the Rye. Even more impressively, I have absolutely no idea what happens in this book, other than that Holden Caulfield is super angsty. I was also warned that I'll want to go on a killing spree by the time I'm finished. Since the novel is assigned for my upcoming YA Literature class and I'm reading it ahead of the game, I have decided to live-blog the process, if you can call the reading of a book published in 1951 a live-blog.
Without further ado,
The Catcher in the Rye: Chapter 1
"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth."
Damn. We're one sentence in and Holden is already more miserable than Harry Potter in Order of the Phoenix. This isn't going to be a book o' sunshine, is it? We also learn that Holden's brother, D.B., wrote some short stories that made it big and now he's in Hollywood. Apparently, Holden is not okay with this; calling his brother a "prostitute." I hope we get some reasons for Holden's mood soon, because this is a puzzler.
Cut to flashback. He was kicked out of school for not applying himself and failing four classes. Holden, we are not friends. Mr. Spencer, the history teacher, asked Holden to visit before he leaves the school forever. Mr. Spencer had the grippe, which is a synonym for "contagious flu" so I wouldn't have gone to visit him myself. The chapter ends as Holden arrives at Mr. Spencer's house. I'm going to go ahead and predict that Holden doesn't catch the grippe and immediately die, since we have a lot of chapters left.
To Be Continued...
-S
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