A GREAT "CATCHER IN THE RYE" ANTI-THESIS. A series of true short stories of the Depression. The novel portrays the life story of "Harold," who is a victim of the great depression of the thirties. It captures the capacity for dignity that the man-child is able to maintain, in spite of a tragic family situation, an orphanage, foster homes, and living on the streets of Washington, DC. It is a story of a child growing from age fi ve to sixteen as seen through the eyes of a seventeen year old and using the voice and cadence and rhythm and vernacular of a seventeen year old. It often reads like poetry. The humor is unbelievable. The social messages are astounding. The author turns everyday practical situations and activities into an analysis of social interaction. But it is done so innocently and tastefully that no one is offended by the indictment of the way human beings handle the suffering of other human beings. The reader hardly notices he has been taught something, because he is thrown off guard by the literal child. This book is intended for high school and college students of American Literature.