Montana 1948 - Part 2

I really liked the book, which surprised me because I didn't expect to like it. I think I can relate to David and anyone can really because he was a kid while all this was happening, and while he understood how bad it was that his uncle was molesting Indian women, he also retained childlike innocence by believing that Frank Hayden's suicide would solve all the problems and fix everything in his family when life is not that simple and everything that had happened had stressed his parents' relationship, strained the already difficult relationship between Wesley and his father, and made it difficult for them to continue living in Bentrock where no one else (except for the undertaker) knew the whole story. I especially liked the ending, "For an instant I thought I felt the wood still vibrating from my father's blow" because I could interpret it as: even though many years had passed, what happened in the summer of 1948 continued to affect David and his family as if it all had happened recently.

Montana 1848 - Part 1

Is the year in the title really significant to the book? I'm having a huge problem remembering it, for some reason I keep thinking it's 1945 instead of 1948... Anyway, confusion aside, I really like the book so far, and I can completely relate to Davy: parents always want to shield you from the bad things in life, but they don't seem to realize that you have to grow up and face those things someday. When I was younger, the only way I ever found out anything that was going on was by eavesdropping, like Davy, because my parents never told me about anything (maybe they had a good reason, since I used to be such a blabbermouth, but still, the concept is the same...), even if it was really important. Even now, I'm not told everything (which I really hate when I find out at the last minute that we have to go somewhere and it interferes with my carefully planned out schedule) and I wouldn't even know when my parents were planning to go for a business trip until the day before they were going unless I paid attention when my Mom was talking to a friend who was also going on the trip. I'm sure I feel the same way Davy does when I say that I wish my parents would trust me more.

Catcher in the Rye - 2nd Half

I didn't get it before why Holden would keep saying how something was when it didn't seem so bad to me, or why he'd call someone a phony just because he didn't seem to like them, but now I think I'm getting more of an idea. Like when Mr. Spencer and a lady (who, apparently in Holden's opinion, is too old to be working) say "good luck", it irritates him because he thinks it's depressing. I guess it kind of was, since both times he was leaving somewhere and starting over, and didn't seem to have any expectations that it would work out. But what I really didn't understand before why practically everyone was a phony to Holden (I just thought that either 1. he was just jealous or 2. he had no idea what he was talking about), but now that I think about it, I can relate to him there. Like, whenever someone asks a question like "How are you?" or "Are you okay?", no one ever says "I'm not doing so well" or "No, I'm not okay" either because the asker doesn't seem to care at all, or it's just that those questions are useless and no one answers them after really thinking about the answer first, so the answer is always the same, "I'm good" or "I'm okay (even if I did just hit my head on something, really, I'm okay)". That kind of thing has always bothered me a bit too, especially when I'm talking to a friend and they don't seem to be telling the truth when I ask them that kind of question.

And I have to agree with Holden when he says "Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody". If you start telling someone something, then you have to remember it and think about it, and then you begin to wish to have that time back and you end up missing people you weren't even sure you liked - it's better to not talk about all that and focus on the future, because the past is already gone.

The Catcher in the Rye - 1st Half

So far, the novel seems pretty good, decent. But the problem I have with J.D. Salinger's writing style is that the protagonist and narrator (Holder Caulfield) is constantly adding, "It really was", "I really am", or "It really did", as if the reader is supposed to doubt whatever he's saying. The first couple of times it was okay, but I don't like to get to page 80 in a book and still see "The blonde was dumb. She really was", or something like that. It's annoying!!! I suppose I can see why the author did that, seeing as Holden admits that he's a compulsive liar (and, like Esther Greenwood of The Bell Jar, he also hides his identity by making up new names) and adding "really" would separate the lies from the truth or emphasize Holden's lying problem, but it is honestly EXTREMELY irritating!