It's not so much what happens that got to me, but getting into the narrator's head is just an empty experience that drained my emotions right out of me. I felt like a soiled rag left on the floor for days.

I can imagine that a little. For me being in his head is mostly just a constant stream of 'ewwww' because of how slimy he is. Most of the time I even sort of forget that the person he's obsessing over is actually a 12 year old, and then sometimes I realize again and there is a bout of 'EWWWWWWW' in between the 'ewwww'

^that guy couldn't look more like a child molester if he tried

The character tops the picture. Trust me.

It's so ****ing annoying and dumb how people who never read the book try to paint it as pedo propaganda.
It's so, so not.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin is similarly misunderstood by people who haven’t read it.

so what is it?

preliminary question:

what are your thoughts on bukowski

I think you'd have to be a pedophile to think that if you have read it.

Who’s this directed at? And what is what? And are you working toward Ginsberg?