First off, I love J.D. Salinger and all of his books. So I was surprised when, as my step-kids went through that particular reading phase in high school when they were assigned Catcher in the Rye, they reported that they kind of hated it. Whaaaat?

One big problem, they said, was that they couldn’t really relate to Holden, the teenage, trash-talking, car-wreck of a main character. As I thought about it, it made sense. I mean, the language is dated. Holden’s lifestyle–tony prep school, money, a lot of freedom, doesn’t resemble the way most kids live. (Unless you watch “NYC Prep.” And here’s a tip: Don’t.)

I ran across this article in the Times the other day, that speaks, in fact, exactly to the lack of rapport modern kids (Gee-yod that sentence makes me feel old) feel with this book and this character.

So why am I bringing it up at all? Because Catcher in the Rye was the first book I ever read that made me think someone got what it felt like to lose a sibling. I read that book not as the story of a typical disenfranchised teenager, or as the amusing romps of a rebel teen, but as the diagram of a nervous breakdown, brought on by the loss of Holden’s younger brother, Ally, to leukemia.

I don’t have the book in my office, or I’d quote from it. I’ll post a few quotes shortly. But, really, it’s heartbreaking, particularly the section from which the book’s name is drawn. I never see this aspect of the book talked about, which I find odd. Maybe it’s just me, looking for siblings and sibling loss. I am, of course, prone to that. But…I don’t think so. Sibling loss is a theme, in fact, in every single one of Salinger’s published books and short stories (God only knows what’s in the pile of unpublished stories he’s reputed to have written.)

At any rate, I was bummed when my step-kids weren’t into the book. And I guess it sort of saddens me to see it get dated in the eyes of so many. But, for me, as a bereft sibling, it will always be relevant. Give it a read if you’ve got the time. And read Salinger’s other stuff, too. It’s well worth it.