The Catcher in the Rye

I finished watching the hollow movie biography of J.D. Salinger Rebel in the Rye.  I decided to gave Salinger his due by reading The Catcher in the Rye again. This book pretty much started young adult fiction.  No one was really thinking of getting into a teenager's brain before that especially one that wasn't a go-getter. Holden's smart but he isn't going in any direction and he himself is very aware of this.  I really like his relationship with his sister Phoebe in this book.  The author himself was interesting as well as he quit publishing soon afterward and just became a hermit which made him more of a mysterious legend. A lot of the things Holden whines about were things I thought as a teenager as well, the questioning of society and how everyone seemed phony. A lot of books were influenced by this one the best of which was probably The Bell Jar. For a book written over forty years ago, it holds up rather well. 

The Glass Menagerie

I was frustrated with children's literature when I was 11 years old.  I was a shy loner and barely related to any of the books that I read.  They were all about slumber parties, things I didn't experience. I read "The Glass Menagerie" and finally found something that I could relate to.  I would quit children's books after that and didn't visit them again until my 30's. I really liked the line "It's unusual to meet a shy girl nowadays."  Shyness at least to me has become something less socially acceptable.   I like how the play doesn't wrap up in a happy cliche version even though the movie of the time chose this route.  Tennessee Williams was writing about his sister who he financially took care of for the rest of her life.  Tennessee Williams wrote other great plays some definitely more daring but this was the one that spoke most to the heart.  It's a treasure.

In the Blood

This was an ok play redoing Hawthrone's The Scarlet Letter. This deals with an African American woman on welfare who has five illegitimate children and the way society treats her.  The play ended on a big bang when she finally has it with the word slut.  (I'm not giving everything away.)  Warning this play is definitely for mature audiences.  

Lolly Willowes

This book made a huge impression on me in my early 20's.  An old maid is taken care of by her brother and his wife.  She has no intention of getting married.  She takes care of their children.  Eventually, though she has had it and to their surprise, she moves.  No one takes this seriously and soon her nephew comes to live with her.  She asks the devil for help and becomes a witch.  This probably made an impact when it was published on the women's movement and whatnot. I've never been a girly girl.  This book made me embrace my womanhood more.