The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
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Web ID: 15623461Just read it!
This is one of the only books that I will re-read from time to time. I find that most people either love it, or hate it. I love it. The story is told through the eyes of a young adult who has a hilarious outlook on life and the social interactions that are a part of it. The story is as serious, as it is funny, and touches on themes of innocence and coming of age. I highly recommend giving this book a try. There is a very good chance that you will feel heard, and will relate to the main character.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
It does it's job phenomenally.
Normally, I am a harsh critic of all books, and I relatively dislike praising a book for things like descriptive imagery and plotline. Yet, The Catcher in the Rye did something different that I quite like. The book has no beginning, middle, and end, and we are immediately thrown into the midst of the action without any foreground, because, for a book as simply put as this, it doesn't require any other information about the characters other than the bare minimum. That being said, I wouldn't mind knowing more about the chracters J.D. Salinger brought to a believable and relatively comical and deep book. Holden Caulfield, the main character is unlikeable, which is something I rather enjoy reading about. He hates phonies, or fake people, and hates hypocrites, despite being both a phony and a hypocrite. Caulfield acts like a big shot adult, and this can be emanated within many teenagers. Throughout the novel, Holden changes very little, which allows the reader to find the theme or the moral lesson by themselves, and leaving it up for interpretation. This makes the book more memorable, in my opinion, and creates a tone that can't be created again without major backlash within the community. Many other books talk about the topic of growing up, but none hit quite close enough to the conscious that many hold. Holden is a complicated character that's hard to decipher, it's written as a memory from the future to the past, and yet the future provides no insight on the past, as if it's just a paste of what happened instead of an analysis of what went wrong. He wants to be the Catcher in the Rye, which protects children from falling off of a cliff. The catcher in this case is him of course. Yet, Caulfield could also be represented as the child falling off of the cliff in this case. Holden is saved by his younger sister, and he breaks down as the emotions building up inside of him break. On the other hand, he could still be represented as the Catcher through him wanting to save the children from adulthood and the responsibilities placed on top of adults shoulders. Overall, the book pokes into the topics of growing up and fitting into ones own understanding and viewpoint of the world, and how Holden wants to avoid responsibility and keep staying a child.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A book with social significance and impact
It is rare that a book with such social significance and impact comes along. Although this book is now a classic (crafted 1951), it's message and importance is still relevant to this day. The Catcher in the Rye is the story of 16 year-old Holden Caulfield, an alienated teenager searching for meaning in life. Holden's troubles range from his poor school performance to the almost maddening feelings of disgust he has toward the plethora of phony individuals that he must deal with during the course of his day to day life. The story, told from Holden's point of view, takes us through Holden's mind, as well as the locations he visits on his quest to find the meaning of his existentialist purgatory. A superbly written, concise account of the life of an outcast teen, The Catcher in the Rye, in addition to entertaining us, inspires us to think: to question our own existence and encourage ourselves to be better people through compassion and understanding of the human condition. This book is a must read, especially for teenagers, as you WILL find something in this novel that you can incorporate into your own personality: something that you can make a part of you.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
The Catcher in the Rye Review
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger was published July 16, 1951. The book was his first novel and is considered a classic. I personally did not enjoy the novel. I felt it was hard to empathize with the main character, Holden Caulfield. The way Holden carried himself was difficult to relate to. It felt like he did not care about anything. When Holden was expelled from Pencey Prep, he didn’t call his parents. Instead, he continued to be his irresponsible self. The way he sees the people around him is judgmental and he doesn't know how to fight off his impulses. Throughout the entire book, I was mad at Holden. As the reader, I wanted him to make better choices, however I understood that Holden was a reckless person. A moment that stuck out for me was when Holden physically jumped on Stradlater. “All of a sudden - for no good reason, really, except that I was sort of in the mood for horsing around- I felt like jumping off the washbowl and getting old Stradlater in a half nelson.” Stradlater reacted how you would expect, angry and annoyed. Holden went with his impulses and made me, as the reader, aggravated. This book was not enjoyable because I didn't like Holden’s character. Holden’s internal conflict - to constantly fight his impulses - was distressing to read about because in the end, he went wherever these impulses took him. I enjoyed Holden when he talked about Allie and Phoebe. You can tell by his words how much Holden loved them. However, when he is writing about D.B., his brother who has taken a job in Hollywood, he usually writes with a tone of annoyance. Holden thinks D.B. took a “phony” job. He shares with us that other people his age would think it's cool, but he thinks it's fake. When he speaks with Phoebe and writes about Allie you can really tell he loves them. When Holden watched Phoebe riding the carousel, it almost brought him to tears. He tried to leave her, but he couldn't. At the beginning of the story, he uses Allie’s glove to write Stradlater’s essay. Holden informs us that he didn’t enjoy doing this. It showed me that he cared. This was one of the few things I enjoyed about Holden’s character. I also enjoyed how Holden connected to people. Throughout the book, Holden had acquaintances whom he seemed to make connections with; the nuns, the Spencer's, Sally Hayes, etc. However, he had trouble maintaining those connections. Sally ended up leaving him, angrily. At the Spencer's, Holden just zoned out. When he talked to the nuns he showed more feeling. When talking about Romeo & Juliet, it was clear Holden had strong opinions on it, but he still withheld information. This part of Holden was interesting to read about and I enjoyed how he handled each of these situations. Unfortunately, these were the only things about the book I enjoyed. The Catcher in the Rye was hard for me to get through because of how much I did not enjoy it. This book was not enjoyable and hard to read. However, there were some elements of the book I did enjoy, and based on it’s status in the literary world, I would consider rereading it. Holden’s journey did not take me anywhere and I did not relate to his actions or his decisions throughout the novel. Overall, I would give The Catcher in the Rye two stars.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Classic Read
Holden is a *character*, and I like him.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com