What I am reading

I got this book ages ago, when I was about 15 or 16 years old (which makes some sense, considering the age of the protagonist), because I read it in English classes. Or rather, I should have read it in English classes..

I still remember when I started reading the first half of the first sentence: „If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, …“ – and that was exactly how far I got at my first attempt of reading The Catcher in the Rye. I immediately disliked the writing style and the stuck-up way in which the reader is talked down to and I put it away. I think shortly before our English test, I tried again, managing to read the first and a half pages, then again putting it down, because I couldn’t stand this arrogant writing.

Now, more than 10 years later, I finally made it through, but only in order to encourage my boyfriend to read more. He doesn’t like to read a lot and we thought it might be a good idea if we read the same book, so we can talk about it. And since The Catcher in the Rye is one of his favourite books, I agreed to read it too.

Damn, this book was annoying me! What a terrible brat!

There was this one part I really liked. When Phoebe asked Holden to name ONE thing he actually liked and – surprise, surprise – he couldn’t name one. And all this cursing! Come on.. I normally read a lot of Thompson and Burroughs, so I don’t mind swearing at all, but in all those cases, it adds something to the quality of their writing style. But in this case it just felt like reading something a sassy and arrogant 16-year old had written when he was trying to impress his friends.

And what happens to the ducks??