Absolutely agreed. RHTRC is one of my desert-island books. You’ve just inspired me to start re-reading it today!
Done with Catcher?
Good.
You are now ready to go on the offensive against the idiots of the world.
Try-
[ul]
[li]Fear & Loathing In Las Vegas[/li][li]A Confederacy Of Dunces[/li][li]Fear & Loathing On The Campaign Trail 72.[/li][li]The Curse Of Lono[/li][li]A Generation Of Swine[/li][li]Anything by H.L. Mencken.[/li][/ul]
Thank you. These suggestions have been perfect / relevant.
THANK YOU!
I read A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius several years ago, loved it, and lent it out. And immediately forgot both the title and the author’s name. I’ve been Googling for years, but not a hell of a lot useful comes up when all you can remember is memoir brother custody california.
Anyhow, my post- *Catcher *rec would be AHWOSG.
I’m one of those folks who didn’t much care for TCitR.
But one book of the same vintage (circa 1950) that the book jacket, at least compares to TCitR is Fredric Brown’s The Fabulous Clipjoint. It’s an Edgar-winning first mystery about a boy in Chicago going out on his own and discovering himself (and his roots). He’s not whint and self-obsessed – he’s trying to discover who murdered his father in very ordinary and downright depressing circumstances. A great read.
Maybe The Pitcher in the Catcher in the Rye?
I would read The Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc --by, Mark Twain:smack: I am currently finishing this historical novel, which made me laugh so hard i almost cried real tears.
I found that Good Night, Moon left me feeling relaxed and happy, with no desire to beat up Holden Caulfield or anyone else, so that.
I really hope the OP has found a book by now.
Since the zombie has already been unleashed, I’ll add my suggestion. If you want another first-person account of someone who knows he is damaged but is totally clueless about just *how *damaged he is, try Lolita.
Brilliant book. In the spirit of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, I am sure Catcher would benefit from similar treatment.
The Body Snatcher in the Rye, perhaps?
To speak to the long-ago OP, I never really took to Catcher. However, when I read The Red and the Black, by Stendhal, it really resonated with me. The protagonist, Julien Sorel, is a young man facing the reality of class, status and station and all of the hypocrisy that goes along with it, but is much more of an actor in his life vs. Holden Caulfield…
And if you really want to get to the hard reality of life’s suffering, try Native Son by Richard Wright…
How about * On the Road * by Kerouac?
If what you liked about The Catcher in the Rye was that it was a preppie coming-of-age novel, you should read The Young Desire It by Kenneth Mackenzie:
I’m here to pitch my fave author… Not much with coming of age, but some really good humor.
Kurt Vonnegut: Check out some of my faves:
Cat’s Cradle
Mother Night
The Sirens of Titan
just to name a few…some serious topics, some light, but lots of dark humor.
Isn’t the normal early teen progression:
The Outsiders
Catcher in the Rye
Atlas Shrugged
The Stranger
Stranger in a Strange Land
Journey to Ixtlan
The Illuminatus
Expensive Pot Habit
I suggest Lord of the Flies, by William Golding. For me, it is as memorable as The Catcher in the Rye, and is well worth rereading.
Yeah!
Strange that you should make this suggestion. In my mind, these books are indelibly linked. I can’t think of exactly *why *I think of them together, but I do. They somehow tickle the exact same parts of my subconscious. And it isn’t because I read them in the same grade in school, because I never read *either *of them in school, only many years later.
The Tale of Scrotie McBoogerballs, by Leopold Stotch.