The Catcher in the Rye

Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Book Ever Written
Review: Catcher in the Rye is a masterpiece from a truly briliant writer. Please read this book! The story itself is unbelivably enjoyable and even motivational. This novel helped me find myself, and it could do the same for you. You will never forget Holden Caulfield.

Rating:
Summary: Everybody's an expert
Review: I have read this book each decade since it was published. My reading of the book evolves with me as I age and hopefully mature. When a work of art can help ground a person in the craziness of modern life it is a classic. As I age, I treasure the rereadings and my deeper understanding. I now discuss this book with my teenage children. I am always amused in reading these reviews to discover that [e-mail] knows more, and thinks their own opinion is the last word in literary criticism. I may not like, or enjoy, a particular book, or a piece of music or art, but I respect those who consider such material an essential creative work of the 20th century. I dont write "This book stinks....I hated it....it should be burned." That would only show the world my own narrow-mindedness and lack of a broader perspective.

Rating:
Summary: The Best-Book of the 20th Century!
Review: This book is a superb book. I am nearly finished it, I'll finish it tonight, but I think it's my all-time favourite book. I am only 13 years old, but I can still understand and enjoy it! If you haven't read it, I suggest you read it now!

Rating:
Summary: worst book
Review: This is the worst book i have read in a long time. NOTHING happens. I do not understand what is controversial about this story. It's about an ignorant boy (who says "boy" too much) and his pathetic little life. I felt like I was reading a book for a 9 year old, it's written very simplisticly, almost as if the author thought the reader would be too stupid to understand big words.

I am dissapointed. I have heard about this book my entire life and when I finally read it I was surely let down. I don't get why this book is banned from some schools except for the fact that if students read it in school they'd be so bored they probably would never want to read anything ever again.

I only gave it one star because there was nothing lower.

Rating:
Summary: Good - looking for the book ONLINE!
Review: Hi. I really enjoy the book, "The Catcher In the Rye". I am currently reading it with my mother, AND I'd love to read it with my boyfriend. I am looking for it on line. If any one knows where I could find it, please send me an e-mail. I would be soo thankful. Thank you very much!

Rating:
Summary: Missing Something
Review: The Catcher in the Rye is the story of teenage cynic Holden Caufield. We learn about a few days in the life of Caufield as he narrates the events that lead up to his nervous breakdown.

J.D. Salinger has created a character in Caufield that is very believable as a teenage dropout. Caufield seems to detest everything around him but at the same time he seems to be the type of person who truly loves life. Caufield lampoons with such dry wit all that he sees that you get the impression that the reason he does so is because he cares a great deal about the people in his life, especially his kid sister.

The language in this book is slightly vulgar, even by present day standards. However, it does add to the quality of the work. It gives the impression that Caufield is an authentically rebellious spirit.

The Catcher in the Rye is at times funny, saddening, and perplexing. I really had a neutral feeling regarding the book after I was done reading it. I felt that I was missing some undercurrent to the work that was vitally important to understanding it. Some day I may return to it to see if I can capture what that undercurrent is. For now though I can say that it is a good book worth your time. If you do gather some greater meaning from it, so much the better. If not, you will still be glad that you read it.

Rating:
Summary: An Incredible Book
Review: I would just like to say, that most of the people who wrote the reviews above didn't even understand the book. True, the book is about a couple of days in a sixteen-year-old's life, but there is a point, a reason in which Holden Caulfield explains about those particular days of his life. There is a process of alienation which occurs throughout the book and finally comes to a hidden conclusion at the end of the book, which results in having to read the last chapter very carefully to find out about Holden's whereabouts at that point. I had to read the last chapter three times before I finally understood where he really was and why he didn't give details in that chapter. All in all, this is a fantastic book about alienation and adaptation only for those who truly understand it, and for those who don't understand the meaning, it is a funny story about a cynical teenager's life.

Rating:
Summary: My review
Review: I think this book was great.It talked about the life of a teenager messing up in school and how he runs away from his problems.

Rating:
Summary: NOT WHAT IT SEEMS....
Review: I GOT THIS BOOK BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE GOOD. IN FACT, I THOUGHT IT WOULD AT LEAST BE OKAY...I WAS WRONG! AFTER READING ALL THE REVIEWS, I SEROUISLY THINK THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE WRONG BOOK HERE. HOW DO PEOPLE LIKE THIS BOOK SO MUCH? I GAVE IT 2 STARS BECAUSE I BELIEVE THAT YEAH, SURE THERE ARE WORSE BOOKS AROUND, SO THIS DOESN'T DESERVE THE WORST RATING, BUT PRETTY DANG CLOSE. ITS LITERALLY ABOUT A BOY COMPLAINING ABOUT HIS MISERABLLY LIFE FOR 300 pages...WASTE OF TIME!

Rating:
Summary: What Speaks to You?
Review: As with all books, and music, poetry, etc. as well, certain ones will "speak" to you depending on your frame of mind, and in some cases, your gender. This is a book primarily for boys (of any age) who have not yet reached a level of maturity where they can move beyond the troubling issues of youth. While I thought it an interesting read, it does not speak to me.

Rating a book is pointless, reading a review of a book is not. It is the only way to determine if a book may be something you wish to read.