Holden On

Anne Trubek, english professor at Oberlin College, fielded questions about Catcher in the Rye on NPR this weekend. She defended her suggestion in the current issue of GOOD to update the country’s standard required reading list and dethrone Catcher from its position as the quintessential adolescent angst and alienation novel.

While it’s a classic, sure, Trubek points out that a novel about an upper-middle class white brat at prep school no longer represents the universal voice of American teens. And she tacks on The Perks of Being a Wallflower to her list of suggestions for a replacement in the literature curriculum.

Photo: a 1950s portrait of J.D. Salinger, who has nothing to say on the matter, since he’s not been interviewed since 1980.

Thanks Maddie!