“The Catcher in the Rye truly is just that -- an exception, elusive yet grounded enough to reel in the readership of a great number as each year passes. Widely pegged as a coming-of-age novel, the story unfurls around an overtly angsty teenager who struggles to find his way in life. With any background knowledge of the case study himself -- J.D. Salinger -- the novel evolves into something eerily autobiographical. Being an intellectual or abstract being can, at your very worst, make you a cynical Holden in life; I believe J.D. wasn't able to ever truly emancipate himself from the divine cynicism he struggled with. As the novel was continually written off as a teenager's tale, J.D. remained a recluse and left his other written works in a vault. With his mindset in mind, it's no mystery as to why. Truly a mysterious literary phenomenon, at the very least.”
