The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger is apparently a polarizing book, based on threads I’ve seen on Reddit, but I’ve always enjoyed it. It’s an interesting window into the mind of a complicated kid. Yes, Holden is whiny, full of himself, and sees everybody as a “phony” (except himself, of course). So reading it in high school can be irritating, but when you read it as a grownup, and are able to see past all his attitude and see the effect of his mental health issues and trauma on his behavior, things begin to make way more sense.
Regardless, one of my favorite parts of the book is actually the beginning. I like that Salinger references the major work of one of my favorite authors, Charles Dickens:
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 how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.
I wanted to ask if you recall any interesting references IN your favorite books (or TO your favorite books)?
by yanluo-wang