My friend, the writer, Nick Holdstock came over for a coffee and brought some Manna House cakes with him. We discussed The Catcher In The Rye and about how although it is perceived as a teenager concern, that both he and I are becoming even more intolerant of phonies as we age.
"Then all of a sudden, she saw some jerk she knew on the other side of
the lobby. Some guy in one of those very dark gray flannel suits and one
of those checkered vests. Strictly Ivy League. Big deal. Finally,
though, the jerk noticed her and came over and said hello. You should've
seen the way they said hello. You'd have thought they hadn't seen each
other in twenty years. The funny part was, they probably met each
other just once, at some phony party.You should've seen him when
old Sally asked him how he liked the play. He was the kind of a phony
that have to give themselves room when they answer somebody's question.
He stepped back, and stepped right on the lady's foot behind him. He
probably broke every toe in her body.Then he and old Sally started
talking about a lot of people they both knew. It was the phoniest
conversation you ever heard in your life. They both kept thinking of
places as fast as they could, then they'd think of somebody that lived
there and mention their name. I was all set to puke when it was time to
go sit down again. I really was." Holden Caulfield, The Catcher in the Rye
And then, just because I love this quote:
“Among
other things, you'll find that you're not the first person who was ever
confused and frightened and even sickened by human behaviour. You're by
no means alone on that score, you'll be excited and stimulated to know.
Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as
you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles.
You'll learn from them—if you want to. Just as some day, if you have
something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It's a
beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn't education. It's history.
It's poetry.” Holden Caulfield, The Catcher in the Rye
