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Goddamn J.D. Salinger is dead, dead as hell.

BearstranautBearstranaut Registered User regular
edited January 2010 in Social Entropy++
If you were ever an angsty teenager that had an I.Q. higher than that of a snail, but less than a rocket scientist, you probably thought Catcher in the Rye - or Franny and Zoey, were totally awesome books.


Because they were.


Well, the old reclusive bastard who wrote those things died today. Discuss his insane life, and how his work made you want to write, but give up several months/years later.


Dead.



Also -


Today was, incidentally, a horrible day for bananafish.

You ever try and draw Falcor as a giant dong? No? It just ends up looking like a long cyclops.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
Bearstranaut on
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    ascotascot Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Good.

    ascot on
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    Penguin IncarnatePenguin Incarnate King of Kafiristan Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    I'm more concerned about Zelda Rubenstein, personally.

    Penguin Incarnate on
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    SheriSheri Resident Fluffer My Living RoomRegistered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Huh, I figured there would have been a thread about this already

    Sheri on
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    MechMantisMechMantis Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Catcher in the Rye was terrible. I did not like reading 276 pages of pure whining and moaning and bitching, where one thing would happen in a single sentence and then there'd be two full pages of whining about that thing.

    That is not a good read. If I want to read whining I have plenty of resources available online.

    MechMantis on
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    SheriSheri Resident Fluffer My Living RoomRegistered User regular
    edited January 2010
    MechMantis wrote: »
    Catcher in the Rye was terrible. I did not like reading 276 pages of pure whining and moaning and bitching, where one thing would happen in a single sentence and then there'd be two full pages of whining about that thing.

    That is not a good read. If I want to read whining I have plenty of resources available online.

    That does not mean the book was terrible. That just means you didn't like it.

    Sheri on
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    RynaRyna Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    I liked Catcher in the Rye..

    .. But so did Mark Chapman

    .. and he killed John Lennon

    Ryna on
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    Penguin IncarnatePenguin Incarnate King of Kafiristan Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Look, JD Salinger dying at 91 isn't the exactly the saddest thing in the world, but anyone that is using this as an opportunity to bitch about Catcher is a straight up fucking cunt.

    Penguin Incarnate on
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    satansfingerssatansfingers Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    i always liked franny and zooey more than catcher in the rye

    also the new yorker has all of the short stories of his that they published up for free

    satansfingers on
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    Calamity JaneCalamity Jane That Wrong Love Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    j.d. salinger was a guy whose books i didn't read

    were they good books

    Calamity Jane on
    twitter https://twitter.com/mperezwritesirl michelle patreon https://www.patreon.com/thatwronglove michelle's comic book from IMAGE COMICS you can order http://a.co/dn5YeUD
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    MechMantisMechMantis Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    And everyone knows my opinion is the only one that matters!
    I had assumed that the "in my opinion" was heavily implied.

    But I still don't understand how it is a literary masterpiece. The book is a kid whining for pages and pages and pages.

    Again, whining a good read does not make.

    MechMantis on
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    redheadredhead Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Look, JD Salinger dying at 91 isn't the exactly the saddest thing in the world, but anyone that is using this as an opportunity to bitch about Catcher is a straight up fucking cunt.

    and yet that is exactly what will happen on every page of this thread

    redhead on
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    SheriSheri Resident Fluffer My Living RoomRegistered User regular
    edited January 2010
    MechMantis wrote: »
    And everyone knows my opinion is the only one that matters!
    I had assumed that the "in my opinion" was heavily implied.

    But I still don't understand how it is a literary masterpiece. The book is a kid whining for pages and pages and pages.

    Again, whining a good read does not make.

    I dunno, you sound pretty whiny and I'm entertained

    Wait, no I'm not

    I guess you're right

    Sheri on
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    Sars_BoySars_Boy Rest, You Are The Lightning. Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
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    KazhiimKazhiim __BANNED USERS regular
    edited January 2010
    I despised Catcher

    that being said, the book is a classic piece of American literature

    Kazhiim on
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    Mr FuzzbuttMr Fuzzbutt Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    I thought Mr Caulfield was potentially an interesting character, but nothing actually happened in the book so he was kind of wasted.

    Mr Fuzzbutt on
    broken image link
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    KusuguttaiKusuguttai __BANNED USERS regular
    edited January 2010
    MechMantis wrote: »
    Catcher in the Rye was terrible. I did not like reading 276 pages of pure whining and moaning and bitching, where one thing would happen in a single sentence and then there'd be two full pages of whining about that thing.

    That is not a good read. If I want to read whining I have plenty of resources available online.

    like this post for instance

    Kusuguttai on
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    MechMantisMechMantis Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Sheri wrote: »
    I dunno, you sound pretty whiny and I'm entertained

    Wait, no I'm not

    I guess you're right

    At least we have consensus!

    MechMantis on
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    KazhiimKazhiim __BANNED USERS regular
    edited January 2010
    it's me

    im the catcher

    Kazhiim on
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    ascotascot Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Weird, I thought there were a few threads about this already. Maybe just everyone is talking about it in the other threads.

    ascot on
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    SheriSheri Resident Fluffer My Living RoomRegistered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Speaking of shit they make you read for no good reason

    How about that Hamlet

    I mean, jeeze, it's a fucking play. No one likes plays. And it's depressing. Everyone fucking dies at the end. I don't understand why they keep making generations and generations of kids read this trash, there's clearly nothing of value in it cuz I don't like it.
    I love Hamlet. If anyone says a negative word about Hamlet, I will fucking cut you.

    Sheri on
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    TheOneWhoStoodUpTheOneWhoStoodUp Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    My immediate reaction upon hearing the news earlier today was "He wasn't already dead?"

    As American recluses go, my favorite is probably Bill Watterson. I'll be sad when he dies.

    TheOneWhoStoodUp on
    That's pretty far out, man!
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    satansfingerssatansfingers Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    satansfingers on
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    MechMantisMechMantis Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Also, a note.

    I realize that using a thread about a guy dying is a pretty poor place to criticize his work.

    But it was his only major work.

    I mean seriously, what the hell else are we gonna talk about?

    I hadn't even heard of Raise High the Roof Beam until I started looking into him when I started reading Catcher.


    EDIT: If you're looking for a more detailed criticism:

    The plot moves at a glacial pace, due to the fact that every action involves at least one page of what can only be termed as whining (seriously I can't think of any better terms, if you've got one, I'd be glad to hear it).

    The protagonist seems to be a silly goose just to be a silly goose at times, and while the scenes involving his sister are touching, it is the only time he isn't kvetching at how phony the world is. There is a point to it, but DAMN couldn't he have, I don't know, not made the thing brains-fall-out boring for 230-some pages before that point?

    As a story, it falls short. As an... experiment? It does okay.

    MechMantis on
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    KusuguttaiKusuguttai __BANNED USERS regular
    edited January 2010
    Sheri wrote: »
    Speaking of shit they make you read for no good reason

    How about that Hamlet

    I mean, jeeze, it's a fucking play. No one likes plays. And it's depressing. Everyone fucking dies at the end. I don't understand why they keep making generations and generations of kids read this trash, there's clearly nothing of value in it cuz I don't like it.
    I love Hamlet. If anyone says a negative word about Hamlet, I will fucking cut you.

    hamlet ain't that great sheri hts

    hts means hate to say


    edit: he wrote franny and zooey which is a major work dude

    pay attention to the OP

    Kusuguttai on
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    TheOneWhoStoodUpTheOneWhoStoodUp Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Venomous Sarcasm: What a piece of work is a man.

    TheOneWhoStoodUp on
    That's pretty far out, man!
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    SheriSheri Resident Fluffer My Living RoomRegistered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Kusuguttai wrote: »
    Sheri wrote: »
    Speaking of shit they make you read for no good reason

    How about that Hamlet

    I mean, jeeze, it's a fucking play. No one likes plays. And it's depressing. Everyone fucking dies at the end. I don't understand why they keep making generations and generations of kids read this trash, there's clearly nothing of value in it cuz I don't like it.
    I love Hamlet. If anyone says a negative word about Hamlet, I will fucking cut you.

    hamlet ain't that great sheri hts

    hts means hate to say

    Cutting you right meow

    meow means now

    Sheri on
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    KazhiimKazhiim __BANNED USERS regular
    edited January 2010
    I, too, enjoy hamlet

    toooo bad the english teacher I had at the time ended up being a pedophile! He was my favorite english teacher. You know, until the whole "I sleep with my students" thing came out

    Kazhiim on
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    SheriSheri Resident Fluffer My Living RoomRegistered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Kazhiim wrote: »
    I, too, enjoy hamlet

    toooo bad the english teacher I had at the time ended up being a pedophile! He was my favorite english teacher. You know, until the whole "I sleep with my students" thing came out

    Yeah that is kind of a bummer

    Hamlet saved Shakespeare for me, pretty much

    Even though my prof for Hamlet was also a d-bag, but with less kid-fucking

    Sheri on
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    redheadredhead Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    t everyone:

    everything you were going to say about catcher ("it sux, holden was silly/a goose") has been said on this very forum a million times already

    redhead on
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    WimbleWimble Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    in europe, we pronounce it hamlay

    Wimble on
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    satansfingerssatansfingers Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    MechMantis wrote: »
    Also, a note.

    I realize that using a thread about a guy dying is a pretty poor place to criticize his work.

    But it was his only major work.

    I mean seriously, what the hell else are we gonna talk about?

    I hadn't even heard of Raise High the Roof Beam until I started looking into him when I started reading Catcher.

    he wrote lots of other major works

    he's pretty majorly celebrated for his short stories

    satansfingers on
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    KusuguttaiKusuguttai __BANNED USERS regular
    edited January 2010
    Kazhiim wrote: »
    I, too, enjoy hamlet

    toooo bad the english teacher I had at the time ended up being a pedophile! He was my favorite english teacher. You know, until the whole "I sleep with my students" thing came out

    was he your favorite BECAUSE he slept with you
    and then they took him away?
    is that why you're bitter

    also did that silly goose rule get revoked because i see a lot of insults in this thread

    Kusuguttai on
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    TheOneWhoStoodUpTheOneWhoStoodUp Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Sheri wrote: »
    Kazhiim wrote: »
    I, too, enjoy hamlet

    toooo bad the english teacher I had at the time ended up being a pedophile! He was my favorite english teacher. You know, until the whole "I sleep with my students" thing came out

    Yeah that is kind of a bummer

    Hamlet saved Shakespeare for me, pretty much

    Even though my prof for Hamlet was also a d-bag, but with less kid-fucking

    Are you saying Hamlet is his only redeeming work?

    TheOneWhoStoodUp on
    That's pretty far out, man!
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    KazhiimKazhiim __BANNED USERS regular
    edited January 2010
    I suppose the point of holden was to be unlikable. Salinger was an adult when he wrote it, so maybe he was trying to write a story teenagers could read and either be like "OH MY GOD I IDENTIFY WITH THIS ASSHOLE SO MUCH" or "what is this baby pooping in his baby ass diapers"

    from there, the cullings could take place

    Kazhiim on
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    SheriSheri Resident Fluffer My Living RoomRegistered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Wimble wrote: »
    in europe, we pronounce it hamlay

    :^:

    Sheri on
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    satansfingerssatansfingers Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Kazhiim wrote: »
    I suppose the point of holden was to be unlikable. Salinger was an adult when he wrote it, so maybe he was trying to write a story teenagers could read and either be like "OH MY GOD I IDENTIFY WITH THIS ASSHOLE SO MUCH" or "what is this baby pooping in his baby ass diapers"

    from there, the cullings could take place

    disillusionment/disaffection with the rich and successful is a pretty enduring theme throughout his stuff

    dude was a recluse for a reason

    satansfingers on
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    KazhiimKazhiim __BANNED USERS regular
    edited January 2010
    Wimble wrote: »
    in europe, we pronounce it hamlay

    aren't you from daneland?

    Dudes pouring poison in your ear is like, the third most common way to die out there, or so I hear

    Kazhiim on
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    SheriSheri Resident Fluffer My Living RoomRegistered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Sheri wrote: »
    Kazhiim wrote: »
    I, too, enjoy hamlet

    toooo bad the english teacher I had at the time ended up being a pedophile! He was my favorite english teacher. You know, until the whole "I sleep with my students" thing came out

    Yeah that is kind of a bummer

    Hamlet saved Shakespeare for me, pretty much

    Even though my prof for Hamlet was also a d-bag, but with less kid-fucking

    Are you saying Hamlet is his only redeeming work?

    No

    I am saying that up until that point, I was one of those 'goddamnit we have to read this shit every year I don't understand half of it and no one likes plays wtf' students

    Then I read Hamlet

    And I was like, 'Holy shit this is awesome!'

    And then I re-read a bunch of stuff I'd read as a snot-nosed brat, and I liked it!

    Sheri on
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    KazhiimKazhiim __BANNED USERS regular
    edited January 2010
    assuming my theory is correct, you could say Catcher was a modern Twilight. Designed to help you identify who to avoid.

    Yes, I think this is a satisfactory conclusion

    Kazhiim on
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    MacGuffinMacGuffin Registered User regular
    edited January 2010
    Regardless of Catcher in the Rye, I hope we can all agree that Franny and Zooey was excellent.

    MacGuffin on
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