The Catcher In The Rye, by J.D. Salinger

Wow. This book was like nothing else I've ever read.

It's the story of Holden Caulfield - he narrates two days of his life in the most expressive voice.

It's witty, bitter, painful.

Holden is kicked out of his most recent prep school, and he recounts the two days following his expulsion. Throughout he rails at his childhood, the death of his brother, the phoniness of his friends and the people around him, how unglorified being an adult really is -- wishing he were an adult, yet still wistful about his youth. Stuck in this middle ground and entirely disenchanted with his life.

What I wish I had known before reading it (spoiler alert!) is that he is narrating the two days from a psychiatric ward --

which is where his story ends.