Books I Have Read More Than Once (4)

The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger and Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella

The Catcher In The Rye, back cover:

This is one of the most remarkable books published in years. It is the story of sixteen-year-old Holden Caulfield, who wants desperately to find himself, but who goes underground in New York for forth-eight hours when he is overwhelmed by the perplexing circumstances of his life.

I first read The Catcher In The Rye when I was in the eighth grade. I was so caught up in the book I started reading it at school. I would read it at lunch and squeeze a page or two in while waiting for each one of my seven classes to start. It's funny how a book changes as you change. When I first read the book at thirteen I thought Holden was so cool and mature. When I read it again in my twenties I thought he was an obnoxious, pretentious, little twerp. I reread it again about five years ago and felt only pity for this lost young man trying to find his way in an adult world that had let him down.


Shoeless Joe, front flap of book:

One summer evening while sitting on his porch, Ray hears the disembodied voice of a baseball announcer saying, "If you build it, he will come." "He," Ray somehow knows is Shoeless Joe Jackson, his hero, who was thrown out of profession baseball as a result of the 1919 "Black Sox" scandal. "It" is a baseball stadium, to be built in Ray's cornfield. He builds the stadium and anxiously awaits Shoeless Joe's appearance.

But Ray's adventures have just begun. Next, the voice tells him to "ease his pain," and he knows the pain is that of J.D. Salinger, the famous reclusive author.

Shoeless Joe is a beautifully written and descriptive book. Each time I read it I wonder just who the voice is talking about when he says, "If you build it, he will come." Is he talking about Shoeless Joe, J.D. Salinger, or someone else? When the voice tells Ray to "ease his pain," again I wonder, is he talking about Shoeless Joe, J.D. Salinger, or someone else? Is it possible the voice means Ray himself?