In my mind, I’m probably the biggest sex maniac you ever saw. Sometimes I can think of very crumby stuff I wouldn’t mind doing if the opportunity came up. I can even see how it might be quite a lot of fun, in a crumby way, and if you were both sort of drunk and all, to get a girl and squirt water or something all over each other’s face. The thing is, though, I don’t like the idea. It stinks, if you analyze it. I think if you really like a girl, you shouldn’t horse around with her at all, and if you do like her, then you’re supposed to like her face, and if you like her face, you ought to be careful about doing crumby stuff to it, like squirting water all over it. It’s really too bad that so much crumby stuff is a lot of fun sometimes.
-from The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
This discussion currently has 2 responses.
January 28, 2010
Is is any coincidence that you posted this the week Salinger passes away? Still one of my favorite books of all time. Time for a re-read. The Syd Barrett of the literary world I guess. There’s quite a lot of interesting obits out there today, many focusing on his actual talent and what he meant to the literary world, not just focusing on his reclusiveness. Although, it’s hard to not write about that aspect I suppose when you write one of the most heralded books of the last 100 years, then practically disappear for decades.
January 29, 2010
creepy. love this book though. reading it in 9th grade was like, “wow, i can’t believe they’re actually letting us read something like this in school.” easy to read, easy for a young male to relate. i look forward to reading anything else that may be released now that he has passed. anyone ever read any of his other works?