Closing the Book.

Posted By Cliff Tuttle | January 29, 2010

Posted by Cliff Tuttle (c) 2010

J. D. Salinger, the author of that generational icon Catcher in the Rye, died this week at 91.  The New York Times recounted the story of a man once regarded in certain quarters to be a great (perhaps the greatest) American writer who abruptly stopped writing and retired as a publicity-shunning recluse.

We read Catcher as a class assignment in high school, a bold choice in a Catholic school in the early sixties. I thereby discovered for myself that Holden Caufield was no threat to western civilization.  Instead he was just a baffled kid with no direction, not unlike others I knew and didn’t particularly want for friends.

I remember discussing the assignment with my mother and suggesting if she actually wanted to to know what the book was about, she ought to read it.  Shortly thereafter, she became involved in a discussion at a cocktail party where some of the condemnations were heated, only to discover that she was the only person in the room who had actually read the book.

CLT

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CLIFF TUTTLE has been a Pennsylvania lawyer for over 45 years and (inter alia) is a real estate litigator and legal writer. The posts in this blog are intended to provide general information about legal topics of interest to lawyers and consumers with a Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania focus. However, this information does not constitute legal advice and there is no lawyer-client relationship created when you read this blog. You are encouraged to leave comments but be aware that posted comments can be read by others. If you wish to contact me in privacy, please use the Contact Form located immediately below this message. I will reply promptly and in strict confidence.

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