"In American writing, there are three perfect books, which seem to speak to every reader and condition: 'Huckleberry Finn,' 'The Great Gatsby,' and 'The Catcher in the Rye'. Of the three, only 'Catcher' defines an entire region of human experience: it is- in French and Dutch as much as in English- the handbook of the adolescent heart."
Having read all three of the aforementioned books, the latter two twice each, I see a glaring problem with this statement. Every reader and condition? Really? I can see how that may seem. I'd hate to wrap up American literature in those three "perfect" books in which a fairly large group of people are starkly underrepresented. Not every group of people has to be a part of every story but come on...those three books are so....what's the word I'm looking for...
Well I'm sure this certain group of people will have their experiences better represented in perfect American fiction just as soon as they are done shopping, having babies, and learn to read something other than Cosmo and Twilight.
Time to go for a run. I'm going to try to remember that I'm not the only clown in this rodeo, and hopefully others will follow when throwing around superlatives about the American experience.
Don't forget Harry Potter
Posted by: Claire | 02/08/2010 at 11:41 AM