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Title: A whine-fest of self-destruction
Review: Salinger does an excellent job of capturing the thoughts of an angsty, foul-mouthed, rebellious teenager who lets his wildly shifting, hormone-driven emotions control his life. However realistic Holden Caulfield might be, he is a thoroughly unpleasant spoiled brat who I was very tired of by the time the book petered out.Sure, some people (especially teens) might be able to identify with some of the confusion, awkwardness, fear of the future, longing for the past, and hatred of "phonies" expressed by Holden, but he is so lacking in any positive traits (other than a fondness for his siblings) that I had absolutely no sympathy for him. His way of speaking reminds me of Alex from "A Clockwork Orange," but unlike "Catcher" that book has some interesting moral/ethical dilemmas. I think this book is just a pointless whine-fest of self-destruction no matter how well-written it is.
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