General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Catcher in the Rye dropped from US school curriculum [View all]coalition_unwilling
(14,180 posts)at several distinct points in my life (early teen years, early 20s, 40s) and each time the novel still speaks to me. Funny thing is that each time it speaks differently. Thus, as an early teen, I read in it a manifesto of adolescent rebellion. In my 20s, I read it as a declaration of the alienation and loneliness of modern life. In my 40s, I read it while feeling intense 'regret' for all those I had not been able to save, all the Phoebes who must of necessity grow up to experience alienation and disillusionment.
So i think that is the mark of a great work of literature. That we can read it at different points in our lives and have it continue to speak to us, sometimes quite differently. I've had the same experience with other consensus great works, like Huck Fin and The Tempest, so I don't think I'm hallucinating.