The Catcher in the Rye

Media:	Paperback
Author:	J.D. Salinger
Publisher:	Little, Brown
Release date:	01 May, 1991
Our price:	$6.99

The Catcher in the Rye

Average rating:

I liked it more at 24, then when I was 15

I first read this book when I was a sophomore in high school. I remember myself drawn into it then but after I finished it I thought it was fun but didn't quite think it a classic. Recently, I had felt a need to escape my everyday life and the idea of taking off from my job, roommates, life really appealed to me so I picked up this book again. I read it little bits and pieces and treasured each moment. I really identify with Holden a lot mre now after being in the world for a little bit. Salinger's observations through Holden are interesting and his digressions make for great reads. But what I noticed this time around almost above everything else is the intense and sharp humor of the book. I found myself several times laughing out loud. The book is really funny. Holden's observations are so true, it's just funny. The humor relies on behavior instead of jokes and I think at 24, I've observed more behavior and appreciate the humor. The relationships Holden has a very touching and interesting too. I felt that he was more similar in this regard to an early twenty something than a high schooler, but I think early twenty-somethings are a lot more "phony" than holden so he works better as a high schooler. It's a good book. I want to read it again.

The Catcher in the Rye -

The most misunderstood book in the world.

Holden Caulfield is an untypical character, scandalously believed to be the epitome of teenage angst. Subjects of his kind are few and far between and worshipers of his ethos contradict themselves with un-Holden-like gestures of 'coolness' and materialism. No wonder Salinger 'pukes', as he might put it, at his cult following, ALMOST the antithesis of what he was trying to promote.(PR)I met a girl outside a nightclub with an American accent. "Have you read 'The Catcher in the Rye'?, I asked. "Yes!!!!", she replied, "I spent a time being in love with Holden Caulfield!". I was pleased, but then she tried to shake my hand in a stylised 'cool' manner. I tried to respond but failed...oh...but she turned on me; "Hey, get with it, man!", and walked off, not annoyed, but none too impressed...the point is 'The Catcher in the Rye' is a comment on society. It is densely planned but sounds like the simply written diary of a complicated, compassionate, emotional person. It is hilarious and tragic, the author engaging one in a seemingly non-technical rollercoaster of truth, of the way life should be and the way people could be. There is no effect of Salinger distancing the reader with any form of over-stylised excess. Holden is talking TO you, not at you. He becomes the reader's friend.(PR) This is no adolescent book: it is universal and for anybody who has sense and compassion enough to understand: the adolescent eyes of Holden Caulfield are used simply as a means of making the point: he hasn't enter the world so his plight becomes more powerful. He doesn't want to because he is more mature...ironically.(PR) The Vespers of wit clothe the more sombre truth in a short, to-the-point novel, written by a perfectionist with no frills, about a man who so longs for an escape route from imperfection. Joseph Zachary Humphries (jzh1ugs@bolton.ac.uk),Bolton, England.

- The Catcher in the Rye

Juxtapose

The book "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger is an excellent comming of age novel. You see the world through the eyes of the main character, Holden Caulfield. Salinger uses swirls his unique characters into his "stream of concious" writing style. The blend of Holden's tangents and his simplistic observations of other people serve as a source of comedy and sadness.
Holden is a unique character in himself. He observes other people's "phony" actions and ridicules them for it, when at the same time Holden is not perfect by any means. I think the idea of seeing your self, and self-actuality are two of the novel's main themes. Holden is one of the most prominent protagonists in contemporary literature because he is so easily realted to. His hardships of adolescense can apply to almost every teenage in today's world. The struggle for a purpose in life is one of the biggest challenges that people face, and I think the novel shows one way that a lot of people handle it.
This novel is one of the best books in American contemporary literature because it carries so many themes and ideas about life that everyone can relate to.

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