Anyone who’s been checking on by “Books Read in 2008” list (see the link on the sidebar) knows that I recently read two books for my English class: The Catcher In The Rye by JD Salinger and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.
As much as I love to read, I hate required reading. I can count on my fingers the number of required books I’ve liked in school, since Kindergarten! (These being: The Giver, Number the Stars, Holes, Esperanza Rising, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Princess Bride, Johnny Tremain, Tom Sawyer, The House of the Scorpion, and The Ear, The Eye, And The Arm. See? Ten.)
These two books were no exception. Also reading Huck Finn made me hate Tom Sawyer. So, that was double points against it. Also, it just sucked. The pacing was really weird, the characters were really flat, the book itself rather pointless, and, well, I don’t understand in the least why it is considered great American literature. Maybe I missed the point. Because if I didn’t miss the point, there wasn’t one. And I don’t like Huck anymore. Loved him in Tom Sawyer. Now I think he’s annoying.
Same goes for Catcher; I just thought Holden was whiny and wished that he would go ahead and shut up already, because it was obvious from page one that he was annoying, self-centered, and nuts. I wished that his depression would have caused him to kill himself, because then at least his incessant whining would be stopped (and I think I may have written that somewhere in one of my assignments; what can I say, I was sleep-deprived). And how superior he thought he was to everyone else! He is probably one of my least favorite book characters, ever. Yet I know people who love him! Why? Anyone care to enlighten me? And was there a plot in this book? Or was it just, Holden is a whiny loser, because that’s all I got?
I will never be an English major. I like to understand what I’m reading without huge amounts of over-analyzing everything. And I like to choose what I’m reading. I hate English class. People are amazed; they think loving books means loving English class. It doesn’t.
Anyone care to enlighten me (about the mysteries of JD Salinger and Mark Twain), or at least share your own tales of English class misery?
January 20, 2008 at 4:01 pm
I think that Catcher in the Rye is very strong in the voice department, and if you don’t like the voice, you won’t like the book. I’ve always loved it, though it has been a while since I’ve read it. My wife hated it from the start, like you.
Huck Finn also has a strong voice. For me, a huge part of that book is the way it sounds and the way the language reads, which is inseparable from the way the whole thing is drenched in the folkloric. I love reading about Jim being ridden by witches, and I don’t care about pacing.
You picked a good couple of books to hate. For a lot of students, Catcher is one of the bright spots of high school English, and despite its flaws, most readers love Huck Finn. While I completely appreciate your resistance to forced reading, and admire you for standing up and saying you despise these books . . . it sort of makes me wonder how badly your English teachers suck, or how much your resentment is clouding your reading judgement. :)
But hey, I’m an English teacher! lol
January 20, 2008 at 7:18 pm
I love Number the Stars.
I didn’t care for Catcher. I recommend to you Like the Red Panda by Andrea Seigel.
Congrats and kudos on RED!
January 21, 2008 at 11:25 pm
I’ve often hated the so-called classics myself. (Although, I’m a fan of quite a few of them.) Someone once told me that it wasn’t necessarily the writing that made a book a classic, but rather it’s cultural importance – that books are timely and become classics because they touch on a certain subject or writing style that was previously untouched (or unmastered). That explanation helps me a little bit when I’m gritting my teeth and saying, “but this is awful!”. :-)
February 3, 2008 at 3:17 pm
[…] read THIS BLOG about how much Teen Book Reviewer hates Holden Caulfield and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, […]
February 5, 2008 at 2:43 pm
Catcher in the Rye IS strong in the voice department, but Holden always seemed to me
like he was destined to grow up to live in one of those John Updike-ish, vaguely unhappy in Connecticut, novels.
I’m an English teacher, too, and I have always managed to put this one on the recommended list over the summer…
September 7, 2008 at 1:55 am
Strange, because I rememember reading “Cather in the Rye” “Tom Sawyer” and “The Giver” in 5th/6th/7th grade and loving them! Huh, each to their own though…
I wonder if I could count all the books I had to read for english class…
(The Giver, Ghost Boy, Touching Spirit Bear, Lord of The Rings, The Outsiders, (And waaaay back to, I donno, third grade?) Goblins in the castle (The one book I DESPISED reading.) And one of those Linda Bailey Detective series books…
My dad gave me “Catcher” when I was eleven or twelve and after reading it I wasn’t quite sure what to think, so It sat on my shelf for a while, collecting dust. Now that I think about it, I was an amazing book, and all though I may have scarred my preteen self for a while, I’m really glad I read it.
July 1, 2009 at 2:42 pm
I recently read Catcher (it wasn’t reaquired reading at my High School. We read a South African Novel, Shades by marguerite poland which was really beautiful). I’m 23 now, but I remember my friends from other schools hating Catcher when they read it, I however loved it. Other comments have pointed out how prominent the voice of Holden is in whether you enjoy the novel or not. I just really connected with the character, his obvious sense of isolation, his deep love for his family and for children. Holden seemed like a really noble guy who just hadn’t figured out his place in the world, something a lot of young people can really key into. So, I guess the book is about finding out where you fit in the world, not in some dramatic “everything works out” conclusion, but through the slow grind of experiencing the pain of life and listening to your thoughts and the thoughts of others.
Really though, Holden had me at “Pry yourself from my vice-like grip”
July 1, 2009 at 2:44 pm
The Giver made me sad, but it certainly has stuck with me. I still can’t say that I’m starving without thinking “Precision of language, Jonas” and it’s been a decade since I’ve read it.
Also my spelling is atrocious.
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