Rating: 
Summary: Am I missing something?
Review: Sorry, but I found this book to be rather boring and repetitive. I did not like the character Holden, and thought he should grow up.
Rating: 
Summary: form your own opinion
Review: Go into this book without all the expectations and just read it for what it is. Instead of searching for the "deep" meaning, let the message come to you and say what it has to say to YOU. Catcher has proved so popular over the years because it carries meaning and realates to so many different people. Don't worry about what you're supposed to get out of Catcher, instead, find your own meaning. So start reading- like a madman.
Rating: 
Summary: ALMOST RUINED MY REPUTATION
Review: THIS BOOK WAS HORRIBLE. I AM IN HIGH SCHOOL AND WE HAD TO READ IT IN ONE OF MY ENGLISH CLASSES. WE WERE TOLD THAT PEOPLE WANTED TO BAN IT AND I TOTALLY AGREE. HOLDEN WAS JUST THIS LOW DOWN DEPRESSED PERSON THAT ALWAYS FELT SORRY FOR HIMSELF. PLUS THIS BOOK HAD TOO MUCH BAD LANGUAGE AND SEXUAL CONTENT IN IT. I'M NOT THE TYPE OF TEENAGER EVERYONE THINKS ABOUT. I DON'T SWEAR,DO DRUGS OR SLEEP AROUND. BUT WHEN I READ THIS BOOK, I FELT LIKE SWEARING BECAUSE THE WORDS WERE CARVED INTO MY MEMORY. AND THEN WE HAD TO WRITE A PAPER ON IT USING WORDS HOLDEN USED. I DIDN'T USE ANY SWEAR WORDS AND GOT A BAD GRADE ON IT. THIS BOOK REALLY MADE ME MAD. I WOULDN'T HAVE READ IT BUT I HAD TO FOR SCHOOL. DO NOT READ IT!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Awful book
Review: I'd give it no stars, but that's not an option. For me, the book was simply about a whiny teenage brat. I'm a teen, and maybe I'm just weird, but it was one of the worst books I've ever read.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent book
Review: I was interested in reading "Catcher" due to its history from Mark David Chapman up to its inclusion in "Conspiracy Theory." As an aspiring writer, I was very impressed and entralled by the style throughout the book. I loved the conversational writing and feel that's at least 50% of the charm of the book. It's very engrossing and very true-to-life. I don't want to read a literary work that reads like a Medical report. Conversations have real language, descriptions, tangents etc --- and "Catcher" is Holden's story of depression. Which brings me to another reason for liking the book.....I can relate to Holden's plight. I'm now 20 and a sophomore in college, but I feel very isolated away from home. I have very few friends at college, and many of my high school friends have changed drastically. I'm changing, too, and I feel like I don't have anyone I can relate to. As "corny" as it may sound, I relate with Holden and his isolation from society. But not everyone will have that relationship with the character. I believe many who read it will find a piece of themselves floating around in Holden's mind, though. Be warned that it is not a "plot" book, as many reviewers have complained. True - It doesn't have a plot, per se, but it is an interesting story that through reading, I think, allows for much self-evaluation while Holden searches for himself and his role in society. If anyone would like to discuss the book, feel free to e-mail me!
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: This book is the most incredible book I have ever read. If Holden was a real person, I would marry him. I have never had the experience where I have more wanted to protect and love a character in a book than anyone human. The stream of conciousness style kept my attention the entire way, and over not more than 150 pages, Salinger created a character just as complex as the most complex human.
Rating: 
Summary: Slow, but Holden is incredibly realistic
Review: While I found the story itself slightly dull I found the character development to be spellbinding. Being a teen myself, I have often suffered through many author's ideas of how teenagers think (which are NEVER accurate), but Holden is the exception. I can name ten people I know who could be him. If you enjoy deep, complex characters, I reccomend it. Otherwise, I don't see what all the fuss is about.
Rating:
Summary: THE great american novel?
Review: This book will go down as one of the great works of the 20th century, in my mind at least. Words can't describe how much this book speaks to dissatisfied and alienated people who perhaps understand life just a little too much for our own good. There may be little in the way of a storyline, but is there really any such structure to life anyway?
Rating:
Summary: Yes, OF COURSE this is one of the best books ever written...
Review: and it's true, every word of it! a pure ramble of beatific prose poetry, poured forth undiluted by yet another madman searching for truth and beauty along the road of life... of course! of course! this i get! what I DON'T get is why everyone thinks Holden is a phony. That judgement is external/societal, and therefore phony itself! The whole point is that Holden ISN'T a phony. He thinks for himself instead of bending to society's will at every turn. Whether he gets it "right" or not just isn't the point! He's honest about what he sees, true to himself and seeking truth and beauty in life, whereas most everyone around him has given up on it to some greater or lesser degree. Some entirely. Holden simply couldn't *be* less phony! He's REAL and honest and genuine in his intentions, regardless of how misguided they might or might not be.
Rating:
Summary: Not bad, but the book was no piece of art...
Review: OK, art is not an easy concept to grasp, and you cannot explain it in a 1000 words. Better read Kant and his Critic of the Judgement. A book needs no plot to be good, it does not really need anything in particular. But Salinger made me feel like he was just trying to exercice himself with that stream of counsciousness thing. Its just like trying to write a book without any Es. It is interesting for a while but gets boring quite quickly. Yep, a definite average...
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