The oddest book you ever read?

[LWolf]

37. I had to TEACH that story.

To middle schoolers. Based on the vocabulary and syntax, I'd say it's a few decades old. Probably as old as me, lol.

The protagonist is a student in an all-boys Catholic boarding school. He doesn't relate well to others, and limits interaction, including speaking, whenever he can. He steals for the sake of stealing, not because he wants the stuff, but because he SEEMS to like having secrets. When he smiles, it SEEMS to be a weapon used against people, rather than an authentic pleased emotion. SEEMS, because there is almost no dialogue, and the narration is spare and uninformative. He gets angry when people wish him happy birthday, he throws away his cards, he gets angry when another boy takes credit for his thefts, even though that boy is severely punished...but he never says anything about it. He just smiles.

I guess it's a good piece for teaching inference; there's sure as hell nothing direct to go on. As a reader, I'm left, after applying all my skills to make some kind of meaning, wondering, "What the hell's the point?"