“Like most lovers and clowns and poets of the higher orders, [Holden] keeps most of the pain to, and for, himself. The pleasure he gives away, or sets aside, with all his heart. It is there for the reader who can handle it to keep.” From the blurb in the first edition of The Catcher in the Rye. This was sent to me by a friend who said … “Reminded me of your clowning (and perhaps reasons for it)”
