Reading The Catcher in the Rye
when you're in your 30s is a different experience as opposed to reading it in your teens. All I remember from reading it in high school was how I agreed with the rants about phonies. I don't remember any of the other details until I read it again.
What seemed like a simple character back then now seems incredibly young and terribly complex. I don't think I realized even back then that Holden was actually well-to-do; that he was narrating it from some sort of hospital; or even that it was set in New York city. The setting seems much more present now that I've been to NYC several times. I know where the museum with the Indians is.
These days, instead of simply agreeing with the boy's point of view, I can't help but worry if I've turned into one of those phonies that Holden Caulfield detested.
This post brought to you by the free wifi at SEATAC airport.