Thoughts on Salinger

I was sad to hear yesterday that J.D. Salinger had passed. He lived a very long life, but I was also even more interested about him as a person when I heard that he spent most of his life in seclusion -- I never knew that before.

I was unfortunately introduced to Salinger under very unfair circumstances. When I first became a Beatles fan, I learned that The Catcher in the Rye was John Lennon's killer's only excuse for his actions. For years I avoided the book, afraid that it would be a bad influence on me. By the time I got to high school, I was just too curious to continue avoiding it. I picked it up during a free reading time in English class. The book was so compelling that I had to go out and buy my own copy so I could finish it.

Since then I have read it twice and thought that the book captured the essence of teenage angst and confusion. This book and the sudden spotlight on Salinger's life and career will inevitably draw me to his other works, which I have yet to read.

Let's hope this great author will never be forgotten.