Catcher was too whiny even when I was a teenager; I read it again when I was 23, and only finished it out of a sense of obligation. Nine Stories, on the other hand, I loved — especially Nice Day for Bananafish, which certainly isn't any cheerier. It's weird how that works.

I saw it last night, and even though I agree with the B, I'd say it's not a "meh". There are scenes where Snyder absolutely nails the book. There are scenes that will make you cringe ("What happened to us? What happened to the American dream?!"). But there's enough of both that you'll at least be reacting the whole…