RIP Mr. Salinger

An open letter to Mr. JD Salinger, the author of my favorite novel, The Catcher in the Rye.

Dear Mr. Salinger,

After reading the first few chapters of your novel in my tenth grade English class, I instantly related to Holden Caulfield, much like any maturing adolescent. The way Holden's personality and perception of the world are portrayed makes it so that almost any teenager growing up can immediately identify themselves with him. Everyone knows the teenage phase of your life is awkward. Holden is terribly awkward. His character and his attitude transcend eras. Whether you were a teenager in the counterculture movement of the '60s or a generation Y-er ( like me :] ), you are able to connect with him.

Holden embodies the teenage stage of growing up. He is the personification of teenage angst. The beauty of him is that he is filled with dualities. Connection and alienation. Innocence and corruption. Clarity and murkiness. Compliance and rebellion. His hatred of "phoniness" is moving and real. His skewed worldview can be interpreted in so many ways because you, Mr. Salinger, deliberately made it so that Holden is an unreliable narrator. I remember the debates about Holden in English 2A were heated and multifaceted. That was awesome.

Anyway, I am so thankful you decided to publish this novel. It was a defining piece of literature in my adolescence. I think I've learned a lot from it and urge people who haven't read it to read it. The novel and Holden embody the dissidence of American culture and history. I can safely say it is my favorite novel of the 20th century. And I read a lot of books. Or at least used to. This is the only novel I've read in high school that I continue to read to this day. I have three of four copies lying around somewhere. All of them are annotated and highlighted from front to back. It was an inspiration that sparked the flame for me. It was the novel that made me delve into the world of literature and writing.

Like you, I loathe the thought of your magnus opus being adapted into a screenplay. No actor in this world or the next is skilled enough to accurately portray the complex individual that Holden is. I also know that you were never keen to publishing many of your works. But I hope that one day, some of your unpublished works stashed away in your literary vault will see the light of day. The world lost a literary genius on January 27th, 2010.

You will be very missed,
Mike