Catcher -- Liar

You remember those books from your school English exam? My exam board had some quirky books on their lists, you know the kind of thing they include to modernise the curriculum. One 'em was Billy Liar, Keith Waterhouse's, day in the life work. It's not a bad book actually, from what I recall, I re-read it several years later it's a kinda interesting work because it exemplifies post war English culture albeit through a regional aspect. It's got some mild satirical references to the funeral trade, which went a bit over my head, I think probably because the references are too specific and were a bit dated. My conception of the work didn't really gel in my mind until I read J. D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, after I'd done so it struck me that Waterhouse was satirising Salinger. Salinger's oft lauded work has a substantial fan base, mainly amongst angst fuelled post teens from across the water. It's unusual, or was, to find British fans of the work though, mainly because Salinger is an apologist for self obsession, wearisome self obsession, the kind of self obsession that spawns things like Oprah.

In Britain, introspection is sitting alone in a corner of the room, occasionally gazing through a window. In America introspection is finding the best corner of the room from which other people can notice you introspectively contemplating the vista through the window. That is, or was rather, the essential difference between Britain and America, from my slightly jaundiced perspective anyway, I make no claims for impartiality. That anology essentially empitomises the differences between the books too, Catcher reads like a tale, carefuly crafted to cast the protagonist in a sympathetic light. Liar reads like a similar episode but as it actually happened, the demonstrative antics exposed as insincere, symbolic and impotent. I once asked someone who recommended Catcher to me, to read Liar and tell me what they though of Billy. They complied with the request but were somewhat confused, they felt no sympathy for Billy, instead they considered him to be a duplicitous, pathetic loser. That's probably a fair assement and I'm sure Waterhouse would've approved, 'sfunny even though I probably feel the same about Billy I'm more inclined to feel sympathetic towards him than Holden.

Anyway, it's been ages since I read either of these, so it'll be interesting to re-read them again just to see if my recollection of the works hold up.