For August we are going classic

Dale has picked our August book and has gone with a classic – Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger.
For those unfamiliar, Catcher in the Rye was originally published for adults, but has since become popular with adolescent readers for its themes of teenage confusion, angst, alienation, language and rebellion. It has been translated into almost all of the world's major languages and 250,000 copies are still sold each year. Total sales of more than 65 million. The novel's protagonist and antihero, Holden Caulfield has been synonymous with "cynical adolescent." Holden narrates the story of a couple of days in his sixteen-year-old life, just after he's been expelled from prep school, in a slang that sounds edgy even today and keeps this novel on banned book lists. It begins,

"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. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them."

The novel was included on Time's 2005 list of the 100 best
English-language novels written since 1923 and it was named by Modern Library and its readers as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. It has been frequently challenged in the United States and other countries for its liberal use of profanity and portrayal of sexuality and teenage angst. It also deals with complex issues of identity, belonging, connection, and alienation.
So why did Dale pick this book?

1. He has never read it.
2. His partner, Tom reads it every year (so it must be good).
3. Tom’s copy sits on his book shelf, so it was easy to pick.
4. It is a short book, which is perfect for a busy summer.
5. Our book club has never done a classic novel.
6. It will be interesting how many of us have actually read it.
7. For those who have read it before, it will be interesting to see their perspective re-reading it as an adult.

So there you have it. Happy reading!