Holden Caulfield: the original Redditor

Seventy-five years ago this week, a book was released which, according to one exasperated parent, included 237 uses of the word “goddamn”, 58 of “bastard” and 31 of “chrissakes”. Despite only recalling the events of three days in a mixed-up teenage boy’s crummy life, the story takes in prostitutes, underage drinking, noncery, casual sex and a memorable bout of flatulence. A mother’s worst nightmare. The novel was of course J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, which had the unfortunate fate — as far as the huffing parents of 1951 were concerned — of being wildly popular and extensively taught in high schools (though some teachers were admittedly fired for assigning it). To date, it has sold more than 65 million copies. That it has never fallen out of favor should not surprise us: reading