9 Classic Works Of Fiction In Which The Narrator Was Barking Mad

8. The Catcher In The Rye

J D Sallinger's much revered and celebrated book concerning the travails of Holden Caulfield, is an absolute must for anyone interested in serious and well written literature. Originally written for adults, Catcher in the Rye has become more of a book for young people as it captures their frequent alienation and disillusionment with life. Poor Holden Caulfield is having a tough time of it. He is thrown out of his exclusive prep school and he ventures out into New York City where he encounters sexual disappointment, an upsetting incident with a young prostitute and her pimp, and the company of his friend Sally Hayes who dismisses his advances so he calls her a pain in the ass. Desperately sorry for this, Holden apologises but is rebuffed so he goes and gets drunk. The only person Holden can talk to is his 10 year old sister - Phoebe. He sneaks into his parents' abode to see Phoebe. He tells her about a vision he has, of children playing near a cliff and it is his job to stop them falling off the edge - he is the titular Catcher in the Rye. When his parents come home, Holden sneaks out to visit his ex English teacher whome he was very fond of. After a couple of drinks and much philosophising, Holden spends the night there, but he gets a shock when he wakes up and his old teacher is stroking his hair. Holden flees the scene and decides he wants to go and live as a deaf mute but ultimately, he cannot leave his sister and he takes her to the zoo. The novel ends but it alludes to Holden having been an inpatient in a Psychiatric Hospital and Holden finally imparts some wisdom about the danger of sharing memories with people. Throughout the book, Holden seems alienated, depressed and does irrational things. He is not in your face bonkers, but there is definitely something wrong with him. Holden is very disaffected, he gets no answers from adults, from women or from the establishment. He is essentially a rudderless ship floating about with nothing but Phoebe to tie him to the ground. Although Holden's mental health is awry in the book, he never descends to violence or murder. However, the book has allegedly inspired real life people to psychotic acts of violence including John Hinckley Jnr's assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan. When Mark Chapman shot John Lennon, he was carrying his own copy of the book in which he had written "To Holden Caulfield from Holden Caulfield. This is my statement". I'm sure Sallinger was delighted with that.