The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Believe it or not I somehow made it through high school and college without reading this book.  Even more incredulous, I'd never really heard anything about it other than it was considered a classic.  And now for the humour, due to the name of the book, I thought it was going to be about life on a farm and harvests.  Yeah, I was definitely wrong.

Holden is a teenage boy who has just been kicked out of his school for failing most of his classes.  As the term has not quite let out for winter yet, he is still on campus, but after an altercation decides to leave and explore the big bad streets of New York by himself.  Here he gets himself into mild trouble, almost sleeps with a prostitute, and generally just gambles around talking to himself and attempts to keep himself entertained.  This is all done while expressing a genuine dissatisfaction at the world around him.

Holden is not an endearing character.  Sure he has his moments when it comes to little glimmers of helpfulness and appreciation in him, but for the most part he's just not that likable.  And I really think that was the intention.  He is not your general hero and instead portrays a depressed, ego-centric, angst-ridden teenager.  Which is probably immediately identifiable to a big portion of the population.  Especially those who are his age as well.  There are other characters in the novel as well but we only see them through Holden's eyes.  Therefore, if he likes them they are described in glowing terms, like his sister, or if he doesn't like them he makes sure you know it, like his roommate at the school.  But in the end, when it comes to Holden himself, I really didn't care what happened either way to him.

There wasn't a normal plot to this book.  It kind of just rambled on like Holden's stream of consciousness without a break.  I actually found it kind of hard to read as I'm not fond of the stream of consciousness type of writing.  It works ok in the movies when a person is actually talking, but in writing it doesn't translate as well or lend itself to being readable.  That being said it was a rather tragic book and a good look at how people can feel lost at times.  But I won't say I enjoyed it.  I actually found the book pretty average.  Maybe not worth the hype it's been given, but not anything I'd say I'd hate either.  At most I'll probably remember it for a few days and move on as it didn't spark anything in me.

I can't see myself reading anything else by Salinger.  But this wasn't as excruciating or as wonderful as I thought it would be judging by others opinions.  It simply was out there.

The Catcher in the Rye
Copyright 1945
214 pages

Crewel by Gennifer Albin

**This review is part of the Amazon Vine program**

I absolutely loved this book. I found it innovative and unlike anything else I had read before. And it was dystopian, which is one of my favorite genres. It definitely made me glad I picked a book out because of its cover when I don't normally do that.

Adelice lives in a world that is controlled by Spinsters. Women who can weave the looms that run the world. And the Spinsters of course are controlled by the guild. From the food that is given to whether or not daughters or sons are born to a family, everything is controlled in her world. Her parents hope that she won't become a Spinster, and she never really realizes why until she is called into service. It's a cutthroat occupation and far more devious than she ever imagined. And her abilities are beyond the normal set for girls, making her world a little more treacherous as a result.

Adelice is a very strong character. She's smart, but sometimes can't control what she says and I can totally relate to having a lack of filter. She just won't take anything from anybody if she can help it. And the situation she is put into is certainly an interesting one and quite dangerous to her if she doesn't play the game right. With all the antagonists in this story it's also hard to pick a favorite one. They all play their role very well and it's very hard to tell who's who and on what side. And if they really think what they're doing is for the good of all or just in it for themselves. I did like Adelice's male companions as well. They were each very unique and relevant to the story.

The idea of a world being controlled by weavers is interesting. It shows some roots in mythology but takes it to a whole other level. And the detail of that level is astounding. Albin did a very good job world building and describing how the weaving takes place. I could almost see it happening in my head. But her world is also very cruel, as they must be in a dystopian novel and it definitely makes you root for the main character to overcome the odds. The only think I was really disappointed in was the abrupt ending. Everything just rushed a little too fast for me.

But I will definitely look forward to the sequel of this book. I have to know what happens and I care about the characters and want to know what will become of them. A very intriguing story to be sure.

Crewel
Copyright 2012
357 pages

Tecumseh by Paul Joseph Lederer

I like exploring different aspects of our history in this country. And in particular I've always been intrigued with the story of Tecumseh. This was a telling of the Tecumseh story, but widely different than anything I had ever read before. And to be honest, I didn't really like it.

Tecumseh was born under the prophecy of a shooting star. He was born to be a Warrior, and with the Americans encroaching further and further into their territory, an inevitable war breaks out. Tecumseh's first thought is war, but between his wife, true love, and a slave who worships him, he also has his hands pretty full with women too. As the years pass, he becomes more desperate to regain what used to belong to his tribe.

Tecumseh was a pretty flat character. Aside from his quick love for Elizabeth, the English woman he meets by chance, he doesn't really seem to care about much but the war that is raging on. Even his son by his wife he doesn't really express interest in. Elizabeth herself is such a weird character and I really didn't see what value she added to the story. The same with all of the women in Tecumseh's life really, with maybe the exception of the wife as she provided some antagonism.

The plot contained some historical accuracies. Some of the main battles were mentioned that Tecumseh was part of. And some real people were also included. But the main part of this book was pure fabrication. It kind of hurt to read actually. Especially all of Tecumseh's love interests. While I'm sure the guy probably slept around a little bit I doubt it happened in the way this book described. It just seemed too implausible. There was also a bit of descriptive sex in this book, which doesn't bother me, but wasn't something I was expecting in this type of book. And there were some gory descriptions of war as well. So you have been warned if you don't care for these types of things.

Not that historically accurate, flat characters, and just in general a read I wouldn't recommend, this book is one that makes me think I'll pass on any others by Lederer.

Tecumseh
Copyright 1982
298 pages