With the passing of J.D. Salinger we have lost a truly iconic author whose inimitable style left an immutable impression on the landscape of American literature. I remember reading "Catcher in the Rye" over 20 years ago and thoroughly enjoying every page I read. Heck, I even started using the expression "chewing the rag" so that I could sound like Holden Caulfied.
While today the Harry Potter books may rule book sales, I do not believe that it has the durability or appeal that "Cather in the Rye" has. Salinger's classic transcended generations and spoke to a youthful meandering that we can all related to. Jack Kerouac's classic "On the Road" for me is similar, but I still like "Catcher" better.
Enough has been written about Salinger's passing so I will not add to it, but I will speak to something he commented to a friend. His friend Lillian Ross recounted that Salinger was deeply impressed that a Maytag salesman had quoted the English writer John Ruskin. Salinger related to Ross, "God, how I sill love private readers. It's what we all used to be." Given the decline of reading and the plethora of visual-based technologies, his statement has resonance with me. His death saddens me, not only because we lost a giant of American literature, but because there is now one less devoted reader in the world. Rest in peace, J.D. Salinger.
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