Holden Caulfield is a tiresome little shit. If he were a real person I would be sick of his company in three minutes flat. That said, reading about him is tolerable because, whatever you think of Salinger's subject, Salinger's prose is just astonishingly smooth. I think what I admire most is the sheer consistency of texture - there's nary a paragraph, a sentence even, that jolts even slightly from tone. This is the first time I've read Salinger, and while I'm hoping for better characters in future I'm still looking forward to reading more as this is extremely well-written. Reading it was like swallowing a cup of beautifully made custard - undeniably repetitive, but just so very glossy.