Great Regulars: It was as if a member of my family had died--

and yet I'd never really cared that much for him.

Of course he was important. Like nearly everyone of my generation, I grew up with Salinger in my hands. I remember my mother, when I was 15, mentioned that I should not read a book called The Catcher in the Rye. I needed no other prompting; like most American teenagers I read it greedily, giddily, delighted by the figure of Holden Caulfield, who refused to oblige those in control.

from Jay Parini: The Guardian: Watching Salinger from a distance

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