Finished reading ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ by J.D. Salinger last night. A very well-written book. It took Mr. Salinger 10 years to complete it. It is probably hard to think and write like a teenager when you are not one.

It is a first-person narration by Holden Caulfield, a 16-year old boy, who was kicked out of prep school. He spends 2-3 days in New York city on his own rather than going home to face his parents. The book shows us Holden’s view of the adult world, his likes and serious dislike of ‘phoniness’ in a very distinctive language. This coming-of-age story is a must read for everyone, especially yougsters who are in the teenage years. I wish I had read it when I was in my teens. I would have found someone I could identify with at that time (well, why deny it, even now): the way Holden’s thoughts go every which way as he gets distracted and his overactive imagination about the future.

For those familiar with Marathi literature, I found some similarities with writings of G.A. Kulkarni, who wrote in a very non-judgemental way presenting a story many times without an ending. It is left upto the reader to figure out what happens next.