Let Mr. Cheng POINT you toward some online lists of 100 greatest novels of all time

Time Magazine
http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/

Modern Library
http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/100bestnovels.html

Catcher in the Rye is on both of these lists so it must be a great book, right? Well, of course not. Everyone is entitled to her or his opinion, and there are probably plenty of folks who think that Catcher is overrated. It certainly hasn't stood the test of time as much as, say, Hamlet or The Odyssey. I think it's important to acknowledge the cultural impact the book has had in a short time, and there's no denying the controversy that swirls around it. In 1960, a teacher was fired for trying to teach it, and as we have explored in class, it is one of the most challenged books in print. According to Wikipedia, it was both the most censored and the second most taught book in 1981. And here's some eerie information, also from Wikipedia: the men who killed John Lennon, Rebecca Schaeffer (an actress in the 1980s, and shot Ronald Reagan were all fans of the book (the first two were carrying copies of the book when they committed their crimes).

Given all the hubbub, there must be something to this story of a young man drinking and smoking and swearing his way through 48 hours in New York City. I think it's a natural part of growing up to feel lost and disillusioned. And it's not a sentiment exclusive to adolescence. The world is a scary, looming, unfair place that can overwhelm you if you let it. Given the right series of unfortunate circumstances, any one of us might end up in a mental hospital like Holden (I believe it was the Joker in this summer's Dark Knight who said that the only reasonable way to live in today's world is without rules - a seductive, but definitely flawed world view). I think Holden is looking for a way to make sense of all the phoniness that he sees, a way to live an authentic life when so much of what we are asked to do in adulthood revolves around putting on airs.

Holden's constant search for sex, too, is a quest for authentic love. I would argue that sex without love is just another false transaction. That's why he doesn't go through with it with Sunny. True, he idealizes love to the point where he might not ever find a person to have a relationship with - God help Jane Gallagher if she ever actually goes out with Holden - but Holden is hanging on to a hope that there is something to aspire to when it comes to love, and to life.

Is such a story worthy of being on a list of 100 greatest books of all time? According to two esteemed sources, apparently, yes. But then everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. What's yours?