7 Comments
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Chris Norris's avatar

Very nice, a sympathetic conversation between generations of readers and people, with a blessedly anachronistic absence of snark.

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Tobias Sturt's avatar

Thank you! It's our policy to try and avoid snark (too easy, if nothing else) but given how obsessed Holden is with honesty and phoniness it felt doubly inappropriate.

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Kerstin Rodgers/msmarmitelover's avatar

Loved this book. But what is the female equivalent? Can you think of one ? Female authors Jk Rowling and Sue Townsend wrote from the pov of pre adolescent boys not girls.

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Tobias Sturt's avatar

Hm - that's a good question - its tempting to list all the Brontës and I did just go and check what age Fanny Price is in Mansfield Park (she counts) but I'm not sure I can think of a twentieth century equivalent, it's true

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Kerstin Rodgers/msmarmitelover's avatar

Bonjour tristesse by francoise Sagan? Written when she was a teen. But female adolescent stories are always about relationships with men. The bechtel test should be applied to novels too.

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Tobias Sturt's avatar

And now you‘ve mentioned her, Alison Bechdel’s Fun Home is a contender, maybe?

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