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Jade asked this question about The Catcher in the Rye:
Am i the only person who fails to understand why this book is considered a classic, to me it was boring and tedious and the plot failed to engross me as many other books have?
J S In general, I agree with you. This book was not what I'd consider worthy, at face value, of being considered "classic literature." The writing quality…moreIn general, I agree with you. This book was not what I'd consider worthy, at face value, of being considered "classic literature." The writing quality itself couldn't really be good, by its nature. It was of a 17-year-old boy full of angst, spoken largely in a first-person narrative, so the language needed to sound like it was from an angry kid with a limited vocabulary. In other words, you were not going to get your socks knocked off by the mastery of language, like you would, with, say Hemingway or Vonnegut.

The reason this book was a success though, I feel, is that it was largely a reflection of the era and culture at the time. It was during an era where open criticism of people's motives was not commonplace. Hollywood and pop culture, newspaper editorials, and even books, didn't openly scowl at the phony nature of people in society. It was there under the surface, but not openly embraced. We have to look back to a society that was pre-Howard Stern, pre-Johnny Carson, pre-tabloid, and then immerse ourselves in how fake and phony that would have been to live through.

Then Salinger came and through Holden, said, "hold up a moment. These people are a bunch of frauds." I think that is why it was a success.

The truth is, it was largely a very boring book. There was very little plot, very little character development outside the protagonist, and nothing extraordinary that happened. There was no mastery of language in the prose, and overall, this book, in my opinion, wouldn't make any bestseller list if released today.

Still, it's worth reading to gain a better sense of the era, if anything.(less)
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The Catcher in the Rye
by J.D. Salinger
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