Re reading this purely for the nostalgia purposes.

Plus, it’s my first time trying it in English.
I don’t know how I feel about getting reacquainted with Holden in English...

نکات مثبت:قطعا ناتوردشت بهترین اثر سلینجره,متن و سبک روایت روان..و مهم ترین نکته:اخرین اثری که از سلینجر می خونم:)

هولدن شخصیت محبوب خیلی هاست ظاهرا..برای من نه,اون خشم و سرکشی و دور از قانون زندگی کردن هولدن,بیشتر سطحی و بچه گانه ست..در حقیقت واقعا دلیلی وجود نداره برای هولدن که اینطور باشه,صرفا اینطور هست,و این برای من کسل کننده اس,در واقع شنیدن نق زدن های یه spoiled bratچندان ارزشی نداره که خاص یا جذاب باشه یا هر چیز دیگه..ضعف کل آثاری از سلینجر خوندم بنظر من همینه,همیشه یه نارضایتی و نا فرمانی توش هست که هیچ لایه عمقی تری نداره,از هیچ چیزی نمیاد,یک سری بحران های خود محور و فرد گرایانه,انگار جهان شخصیت های سلینجر فقط و فقط محدود به دیدگاه خودشونه,اغلب شخصیت های تهوع اور و مزخرفن که تمام طول داستان هاش با self pitty راجب زندگی های احمقانه شون روده درازی می کنند..((و سیگاری می گیرانند:) )) حالا هولدن شاید کمی کمتر واقعا..(به همین علت سه ستاره گرفته)
محبوبیت سلینجر چیزیه که انسان امروز رو شکل میده,چیزیه که همه حداقل در یک دوره میخوان باشن,افراد مثلا خاص که غم های عمیق دارن و از زمین و زمان ناراضی ان...
در حالیکه خودشون بی نهایت سطحی,معمولی اند..
ناتوان از درک چیزی فراتر از خودشون,از هنر یا حتی از زندگی واقعی چیز زیادی در آثار سلینجر نیست..
صرفا یک مویه بی انتهاست در یک صحنه معمولی و زشت زندگی...

و در انتها تا وقتی که سلین هست,به "سلین-جر"نیازی نیست...


پ.ن:و این سیگار گیراندن های سلینجر:)

(Book 529 from 1001 books) - The Catcher In The Rye, J.D. Salinger

The Catcher in the Rye is a 1951 novel by J. D. Salinger.

Holden Caulfield, a teenager from New York City, is living in an unspecified institution in southern California near Hollywood in 1951.

Story of Holden Caulfield with his idiosyncrasies, penetrating insight, confusion, sensitivity and negativism.

The hero-narrator of "The Catcher in the Rye" is an ancient child of sixteen, a native New Yorker named Holden Caulfield.

Through circumstances that tend to preclude adult, secondhand description, he leaves his prep school in Pennsylvania and goes underground in New York City for three days.

The boy himself is at once too simple and too complex for us to make any final comment about him or his story. Perhaps the safest thing we can say about Holden is that he was born in the world not just strongly attracted to beauty but, almost, hopelessly impaled on it.

There are many voices in this novel: children's voices, adult voices, underground voices -- but Holden's voice is the most eloquent of all.

Transcending his own vernacular, yet remaining marvelously faithful to it, he issues a perfectly articulated cry of mixed pain and pleasure.

However, like most lovers and clowns and poets of the higher orders, he keeps most of the pain to, and for, himself. The pleasure he gives away, or sets aside, with all his heart.

تاریخ نخستین خوانش: بار نخست ماه آگوست سال 1982میلادی، بار دوم در سال 2001میلادی و سومین بار در ماه ژوئن سال 2005میلادی

عنوان: ناطور دشت؛ نویسنده: جروم دیوید (جی.د.) سالینجر؛ مترجم: احمد کریمی؛ تهران، فرانکلین، 1345؛ در 354ص؛ چاپ دیگر تهران، اشرفی، 1371؛ چاپ دیگر تهران، ققنوس، 1381؛ در 326ص؛ شابک 9643112543؛ چاپ چهارم 1385؛ چاپ پنجم تهران، علمی، فرهنگی، 1386؛ در326ص؛ شابک 9789643112547؛ چاپ ششم 1387؛ چاپ هفتم 1388، هشتم 1389؛ سال 1393؛ چاپ دیگر 1393؛ در 256ص؛ شابک9786001215930؛ موضوع نوجوانان فراری - داستانهای نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده 20م

عنوان: ناتور دشت؛ مترجم: محمد نجفی؛ تهران، نیلا، 1378، در 296ص؛ چاپ چهارم 1381؛ چاپ پنجم 1384 در 207ص؛ هفتم 1388؛ هشتم 1389؛ چاپ نهم 1393؛

داستان جوانی جسور و جستجوگر، در پی مفهوم زندگی است؛ «هولدن کالفیلد»، نوجوانی هفده ساله، که در آغاز رمان، در یک مرکز درمانی بستری است، و ظاهراً قصد دارد، آن‌چه که پیش از رسیدن به مرکز درمانی را، از سر بگذرانده، برای کسی بازگو کند، همین ‌کار را هم می‌کند؛ رمان بر همین پایه شکل می‌گیرد؛ در زمان رخداد رویدادهای داستان، «هولدن» یک پسر بچه ی شانزده‌ ساله‌ است، که در مدرسه ی شبانه‌ روزی «پنسی»، درس می‌خواند، و در آستانه ی کریسمس، به علت ضعف تحصیلی، از دبیرستان اخراج میشود، و باید به خانه‌ شان در «نیویورک» برگردد؛

همه ی رویدادهای داستان، طی سه روز، که «هولدن»، از مدرسه، برای رفتن به خانه خارج می‌شود، رخ می‌دهند؛ او می‌خواهد «تا نامه ی مدیر، مبنی بر اخراجش، به دست پدر و مادرش برسد، و آب‌ها از آسیاب بیفتد به خانه ی خویش پا نگذارد»؛ به همین ‌خاطر از زمانیکه از مدرسه خارج ‌میشود، دو روز را به سرگردانی سپری می‌کند؛ این دو روز نمادی است، از سفر «هولدن»، از کودکی به دنیای جوانی؛ رمان اصلی در سال 1951میلادی منتشر شده، برگردان فارسی رمان، یعنی همین کتاب با عنوان «ناطور دشت»، با ترجمه ی جناب «احمد کریمی»، در دهه ی پنجاه هجری خورشیدی منتشر گردیده است؛ سپس برگردان دیگری با عنوان «ناتور دشت»، با ترجمه ی جناب: «محمد نجفی»، در دهه ی هفتاد هجری خورشیدی نیز منتشر شده است

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 27/05/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 07/05/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger

The Catcher in the Rye is a 1951 novel by J. D. Salinger.

A classic novel originally published for adults, it has since become popular with adolescent readers for its themes of teenage angst and alienation. It has been translated into almost all of the world's major languages.

The novel's protagonist Holden Caulfield has become an icon for teenage rebellion. The novel also deals with complex issues of innocence, identity, belonging, loss, and connection.

The boy himself is at once too simple and too complex for us to make any final comment about him or his story. Perhaps the safest thing we can say about Holden is that he was born in the world not just strongly attracted to beauty but, almost, hopelessly impaled on it.

There are many voices in this novel: children's voices, adult voices, underground voices -- but Holden's voice is the most eloquent of all. Transcending his own vernacular, yet remaining marvelously faithful to it, he issues a perfectly articulated cry of mixed pain and pleasure.

However, like most lovers and clowns and poets of the higher orders, he keeps most of the pain to, and for, himself. The pleasure he gives away, or sets aside, with all his heart. It is there for the reader who can handle it to keep.

عنوانهای چاپ شده در ایران: «ناطور دشت»؛ «ناتور دشت»؛ «دشت‌بان‏‫»؛ «ناتوردشت»؛ «تارلانتی»؛ نویسنده: جروم دیوید (جی.د.) سالینجر؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: ماه آگوست سال1982میلادی، بار دوم سال 2001میلادی؛ و سومین بار ماه ژوئن سال 2005میلادی

عنوان: ناطور دشت؛ نویسنده: جروم دیوید (جی.د.) سالینجر؛ مترجم: احمد کریمی؛ تهران، فرانکلین، 1345؛ در 354ص؛ چاپ دیگر تهران، اشرفی، سال 1371؛ چاپ دیگر تهران، ققنوس، 1381؛ در 326ص؛ شابک 9643112543؛ چاپ چهارم 1385؛ چاپ پنجم تهران، علمی، فرهنگی، 1386؛ در326ص؛ شابک 9789643112547؛ چاپ ششم 1387؛ چاپ هفتم 1388، هشتم 1389؛ سال 1393؛ چاپ دیگر 1393؛ در 256ص؛ شابک9786001215930؛ موضوع داستانه��ی نوجوانان از نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده 20م

عنوان: ناتور دشت؛ مترجم: محمد نجفی؛ تهران، نیلا، 1378، در 296ص؛ چاپ چهارم 1381؛ چاپ پنجم 1384 در 207ص؛ هفتم 1388؛ هشتم 1389؛ چاپ نهم 1393؛

عنوان: دشت‌بان‏‫؛ مؤلف جروم‌ دیوید سالینجر؛ مترجم حسین مطیع؛ ویراستار ندا بحیرایی؛ قم، بوکتاب، 1398؛ در 232ص؛ شابک9786226518550؛

عنوان: ناتوردشـت؛ نویسنده جی.دی سلینجر؛ مترجمها امیرحسین آشوری، وحید حسنی؛ تهران: موسسه آموزشی تالیفی ارشدان‏‫، ‏‫1398؛ در 270ص؛ شابک9786009957996؛

عنوان: تارلانتی؛ دئیوید سالینجئر؛ چئویریب، توتوشدوروب، اویقونلاشدیران: آیهان میانالی؛ قم، یاس بخشایش، سال 1398؛ در 336ص؛ شابک9786226827188؛

عنوان: ناتور دشت؛ نویسنده دیوید سالینجر؛ مترجم زهرا ذوالقدر؛ تهران، نشر گستر، 1389؛ در 254ص؛ شابک 9786005883145؛

عنوان: ناتور دشت؛ جی‌دی سالینجر؛ مترجم مژده میرزایی؛ تهران آریا تبار، 1397؛ در 200ص؛ شابک 9786008072263؛

عنوان: ناتور دشت؛ نویسنده جی‌.دی سلینجر؛ مترجم سعید دوج؛ ویراستار مهدی احشمه؛ تهران، روزگار، 1397؛ در 230ص؛ شابک9789643748449؛

عنوان: ناتور دشت؛ نویسنده جی.دی سلینجر؛ برگردان مریم صالحی، مهدی آذری؛ مشهد: امید مهر، ‏‫1392؛ در 232ص؛ شابک9786001541681؛

عنوان: ناطوردشت؛ جی دی سالینجر ؛ مترجم الیزا معماریان؛ تهران، انگیزه مهر، 1398؛ در 300ص؛ شابک 9786008325444؛

عنوان: ناطوردشت؛ جروم دیوید سلینجر؛ مترجم مریم فیروزبخت؛ تهران، آریایی 1400؛ در 289ص؛ شابک9786229695036؛

مترجمهای دیگر خانمها و آقایان: «رضا زارع، قم آثار نور، سال 1397؛ در 224ص، چاپ دیگر قم الفبای سخن؛ 1398؛ در 256ص»؛ و بسیاری دیگر که هرچه مینویسم کنترلچیها با لطف خود پاکش میکنند

داستان جوانی جسور، و جستجوگر است، در پی مفهوم زندگی؛ «هولدن کالفیلد» نوجوانی هفده ساله، که در آغاز رمان، در یک مرکز درمانی بستری ست، و ظاهراً قصد دارد: آن‌چه که پیش از رسیدن به مرکز درمانی را، از سر بگذرانده، برای کسی واگویی کند، همینکار را هم می‌کند؛ رمان بر همین پایه، شکل می‌گیرد؛ در زمان رخداد ماجراهای داستان، «هولدن» یک پسر بچه ی شانزده‌ ساله‌ است، که در مدرسه ی شبانه‌ روزی «پنسی» درس می‌خواند، و در آستانه ی «کریسمس»، به علت ضعف تحصیلی، از دبیرستان اخراج، و باید به خانه‌ شان در «نیویورک» برگردد؛ همگی ماجراهای داستان در سه روز، که «هولدن» از مدرسه برای رفتن به خانه، خارج می‌شود، روی می‌دهند؛ او می‌خواهد: تا نامه ی مدیر، مبنی بر اخراجش، به دست پدر و مادرش برسد، و آب‌ها از آسیاب بیفتد، به خانه ی خویش پای نگذارد، به همین ‌خاطر از زمانیکه از مدرسه خارج ‌میشود، دو روز را به سرگردانی سپری می‌کند؛ این دو روز نمادی، از سفر «هولدن» از دوران کودکی، به دنیای جوانی است.؛

رمان اصلی در سال 1951میلادی منتشر شده، برگردان فارسی رمان، یعنی همین کتاب، با عنوان «ناطور دشت» با ترجمه ی جناب «احمد کریمی»، در دهه ی پنجاه هجری خورشیدی سده چهاردهم هجری منتشر شده است.؛ سپس برگردان دیگری، با عنوان «ناتور دشت»، با ترجمه ی جناب «محمد نجفی»، در دهه ی هفتاد سده ی چهاردهم هجری خورشیدی نیز منتشر شده است

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 23/05/1399هجری خورشیدی؛ 07/05/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

Please take this review as an account from a fourteen year old. Maybe consider that before you make some extremely inappropriate judgments about me.

TW: sexism, homophobia, gaslighting, inaccurate/inappropriate interpretations of depression, violence and abuse

I don't think I've ever despised a book more than this one. I cannot positively find a good thing to say about it whatsoever. Before anyone decides to come at me for hating this book and say, "Andrea, you're so immature and uneducated" or "Andrea, it was written in the 1950s, what do you expect", no, I will NOT apologize for detesting this book and no, I will NOT excuse any of its problematic content because it came out a long time ago. To top it all off, I practically killed myself reading it. It was awful to get through. I wish I could throw the book into a paper shredder, but it belongs to my dad and it's from the early 2000s so if I wait a couple of years, I can probably get an antique shop store credit.

This book is about...well, I couldn't even tell you. A character examination? An inadequate and inaccurate account of depression? A plot to piss everyone off who is reading? A slacker who does stupid things and uses hypocrisy and lying to get himself out of situations that he created? A boy who gets kicked out of school?

One of the worst things, if not the worst thing about this book, is the vernacular used. J.D. Salinger writes in this method in which he attempts to emulate the way an actual teenager speaks. That would make it more realistic, he thought, but it was actually just annoying. If I have to hear another character [Holden Caulfield] use the phrase "like a madman" or "like a bastard" or "goddam" (which was horribly misspelled, by the way), I am literally going to gouge my eyes out with a spoon. To make it even worse, it was also obnoxiously repetitive. I counted the word "goddam" seven times on one page. He also had an affinity for the sentence "it killed me". Every time that was used, I literally wanted to be killed.

The other most pressing attribute of this book is Holden Caulfield himself. Probably my least favorite character of all time. I got dragged for disliking this book, so I think I deserve to drag this character for some time now. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's hypocrisy, lying, and shaming/judging other people for what they like to do or tendencies they may have. I have been shamed and judged many a time due to my interests and anxieties. The fact that Holden Caulfield is constantly judging, constantly shaming, and constantly criticizing other people for what they do when he should just stand in a mirror and do a self-examination infuriates me. There is not a second that passes by in that book without Holden getting angry or "depressed" because someone lived their life and upset his little hipster fantasy.

Holden seems to be agitated by everything, yet he continues to comply with the things that agitate him. I'll reference a specific example. "Grand. There's a word I really hate. It's a phony. I could puke every time I hear it." (page 14) In two pages, he uses that exact word in a sentence without thinking anything of it. He constantly and unreasonably points out others for being "phony" when he's the one who's really phony. The filthy hypocrite. He "almost hates" certain people for being reasonable and not complying with his own corrupt morals and standards. I understand that the author is trying to show that he is a flawed character, but he just unsettles me.

Another thing...I get that this book is utterly sexist and homophobic because it's outdated, but that doesn't mean I have to appreciate it or dismiss it. The way he treats the women in his life and belittles the homosexual community is just awful. There is a whole paragraph where he discusses his distaste for men who don't treat women right and who are "boring", implying that women should go for "nice guys like him". Then, on the next page, he describes his date with a girl, saying that they "horsed around" even though she didn't really want to, but inherently "had no other choice". This honestly feeds into the hypocrisy along with the sexism. He can be quoted calling girls weak, stupid, and dumb, not specifically, but in general. He can be found making fun of "flits", in which he describes homosexuals as phonies in regard to gender. This regard is disgusting. I don't understand how people who read this book in this present time can manage to ignore that and call this an excellent book.

This book did not have a predictable ending at all. It had a horrible ending. If you don't want to be spoiled for the ending, skip to the next paragraph, but if you don't care, by all means, be my guest and continue reading. This book ends with Holden coming back home. It begins with him getting kicked out of prep school and running away, and it ends with him coming home to his family and finding another school. No sign of resolution. No sign of conclusion. Just the story being like: "okay, fun. Nothing's changing. It's going to end abruptly. Bye-bye now." There was no sense of ending. I understand that sometimes books do not necessarily have a happy ending, but with a book like this that has already charted its course with little to no plot, I think some resolution is required. I felt like my time had been wasted after finishing.

Lastly, I'd like to talk about this book's interpretation of depression. Now don't get me wrong. Someone who is depressed can be a slacker and not want to care about school at all, and flunk out of everything and not have any friends. But this book's interpretation was insanely problematic. The way the character was portrayed made the book seem as if Holden was diseased because of his depression, and that he was so awful because of it. Maybe this is just my opinion, but that's not a good message to share to your audience.

Overall, this book was horrendous. Ghastly. Abominable. It had no point and it consisted of Holden running away, doing stupid crap, lying about it, getting away with it, and then just having it never appear again or show any effect to the story. The writing didn't make it interesting and neither did the characters, all of which I hated. I don't recommend this book and I've done so many analysis assignments and projects that I never never never want to see it again.

Edit: Can we, in the comments, please stop giving me hate for writing this review? I don’t know if anyone realized this, but I was a minor at the time of writing this and am still a minor, and I really don’t appreciate the endless threats I got for sharing my opinion. I understand that the version of me, who read this book in her freshman year of high school, took this book in a different account than how it was meant to be taken, but never did I say that anyone who likes this book is horrible. I understand that you may not agree with me, and I respect that, but to completely chew out a minor who had a premature opinion in paragraphs and paragraphs of writing is maybe something that should be more thought out? Maybe you can make a statement commenting on how you think I’m wrong, and then you can commit to something…more fulfilling?

Holden Caulfield is a character many, many people hate. And trust me, I get it. He's a posturing hypocrite. He's a dick. I wanted to hit him in the face for at least a hundred pages. We know this. But he's a character that, for some strange reason, resonates with thousands of people.

Why?

Well, simply put, it's because he's written like this on purpose. But I think that doesn't quite get to the heart of it. Holden is a fifteen-year-old kid on the verge of an emotional breakdown. He's an asshole. He's a liar. He's a hypocrite.

And he's also... really relatable.

See, as a preteen, I struggled with severe emotional issues. I had depression and anxiety, although I didn't know it yet. I was going through major emotional issues with my parents, ones far worse than teen angst. I was on the lowest rung of the social pole at school.

And God, I was an asshole. I was whiny and I was a hypocrite. I knew it, too, and I cried myself to sleep thinking about it. In the daylight, I told myself everyone else was terrible and that's why my world was falling apart. I was just as hypocritical and torn up inside as Holden is.

Holden is an asshole, granted. But he is an asshole that it's hard not to relate to.

So all this is to say that I completely understand why so many hated this book. But it resonates with me, and with so many people I know, for the exact reason that it will be polarizing.

This is the kind of book that's going to be incredibly divisive. This is the kind of book that should maybe be taught by a teacher who loves it (thanks, 9th grade English teacher who hated me.) And this is the kind of book that sticks in my head, a year after I first read it.

VERDICT: I really do recommend this, even knowing at least half its readership will despise it. It's truly worth the read.

کتابی خاص با شخصیتی خاص تر به اسم هولدن...هولدن هم بشدت دوست داشتنی بود هم خیلی غرغرو و رو مخ...یعنی تو اوج دوست داشتنش گاهی دلم میخواست خفش کنم...
منم وقتی پونزده شونزده ساله بودم مثه هولدن بشدت از همه چیز و همه کس بدم میومد...نمیدونم چرا...اما واقعا بدم میومد خیلی هم بی دلیل |: دقیقا برعکس الان خودم...
از سلینجر به عنوان یه نویسنده که سبکش ضد اجتماعه یاد میشه...و این کتاب هم معروفترین اثرش و تقریبا میشه گفت شاهکاره سلینجره...
یه جا خوندم که دو نفر که به ترور دو شخصیت مهم (یکی ریگان رئیس جمهور آمریکا و دومی جان لنون خواننده موسیقی پاپ)محکوم شدند و به زندان افتادند. تو جیب کتشون کتاب ناتور دشت پیدا شده و انگیزشونو از این کتاب گرفتن..
واقعا جالبه...واقعا عجیبه...

...الناس أذواق يجب أن لا يكون لديكم شك في ذلك
أعرف كثيرين لم ترق لهم هذه الرواية كما أعرف أن سالينجر لم يكتب غيرها
وأعرف أن هناك أفلام كثيرة استوحت منها بل إن أحد المجانين وضع فيلم عبارة عن شاشة فارغة كتب عليها اسم الرواية ، كما أعرف أن آخرا قتل جون لينون أحد نجوم فرقة البيتلز وكان تحت تأثير هذه الرواية

ماالذي أعجبني في رواية سالينجر هو الآتي
انسياب السرد بطريقة مدهشة
أنه كتب بلسان وتفكير مراهق
لم أقرأ رواية حتى الآن نفذت لعمق وتفكير مراهق بهذا النضج وبهذا العمق
كما إن تصرفات هذا المراهق ولسانه البذىء كان يجعلني أضحك من قلبي
وأترك الكتاب حينا لأصفق وأحيانا لأشتم الكاتب
كيف لا أعجب براوي يمنحني مثل هذا الشعور

الحارس في حقل الشوفان
امتعتني بشكل خرافي

"I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all...And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff...I'd just be the catcher in the rye."

3.5 stars
This is my second time reading Catcher, and unfortunately I couldn't really connect with it.
Holden Caulfield has to be one of the strangest and most sarcastic main characters I've ever come across!
In 190 pages, there really isn't a lot that actually happens. It's mainly Holden telling anecdote after anecdote with regards to the schools he has attended and the people he has met.
He's a very lonely character, and I did feel for him at several intervals - but overall I just don't understand the hype for this one.

Genuinely terrified for Emma and Carolyn to read this in April… Holden bby I will stay on your side for life

Most novels are written to be enjoyable. "The Catcher in the Rye" I feel, was written to be more thought-provoking than enjoyable. Its sole purpose is to put the world into a different perspective for the reader, or else support their perspective if they have a similar outlook as the protagonist Holden Caulfield. Anyone who goes through phases of detachment will relate to this book easily. Anyone who generally finds themselves content with the world we live in will not discern any value in this novel without being open-minded to the opinions of people who see the world from a less admirable point of view. I think that is the best explanation I can offer as to why some people really feel for this book and others don't.

Sixteen year old Holden Caulfield has just been expelled from school for the umpteenth time. After leaving the school premises he travels straight to a nearby hostel where he plans to stay for a few days so that he is not at home when his parents receive the news of his expulsion. Living alone in the city for a couple of days leaves Holden to seek weird encounters with strangers and old friends. As well as wandering aimlessly around the city for days, Holden is contemplating the people who have left a mark on him so far in his life, while also pondering his loathing for superficial and pretentious things that people do for popularity and success. The young man is at a point where he is questioning the purpose and sincerity of everything to the extent where it is wearing his interest to participate in life.

I think why 'The Catcher in the Rye' has been so successful over the past several decades is because of its interesting depiction of issues that only concern us as we get older. Although I wasn't alive in the 1950s, I feel like this book was ahead of its time, as it swerved from traditional themes and methods of storytelling, giving it a modernist air and therefore contributing to its success for being alternative. As for the controversy, that may be due to its underlying message that cynicism holds more truth than optimism.

This is one of those books that either speaks straight to people's hearts or leaves them completely cold. I'm in the latter camp: I found nothing in this book that moved me, or struck me as significant, or any way changed my life. I was annoyed by everyone and everything in this book, start to finish.

But then, I was one of those bookworm, straight-A, goody-two-shoes teens who never got into any significant trouble or had any really major angst, other than getting teased by the cooler kids at school. Which was stressful for me, but not, I think, the kind of life stress this book is dealing with. So I respect that this book has been vitally important to a whole lot of people, but all it did for me was waste a few hours of my time.