The Catcher in the Rye

Rating:
Summary: A really fab read.
Review: The manner of writing in this book is just unbelievable. It would be utterly impossible to capture a character so perfectly on the printed page. But for those of you who have grown up, and can only look back on the moods and ideas brought up in Catcher in the Rye, try Something Happened, by Joeseph Heller. It's frightening how similar it is to Catcher, only more mature and elaborate, set in the working man's American Dream.

Rating:
Summary: No obvious messages here....
Review: I have read Catcher in the Rye completely about 10 times, and parts of it many more times. But each time I read it I realize I didn't truly understand what was going on. I suspect it is because I do some growing up in-between readings; I was 14 when I first read it, and I am currently 20.

The story is about an adolescent who goes through a traumatic period in which he grows up and learns who he is. Holden is not a person to be admired, praised, or emulated; he is a rather whiny,pathetic, and confused boy. But what makes the character remarkable is that most people have a little Holden ranting inside them. For those who can't relate and find him disturbing, perhaps they should ask why he is so annoying. And maybe they'll learn something.

Holden is above all, a hypocrite; he is the biggest phony. I can relate; the person who is easiest to deceive is him/herself. He has trouble reconciling his beliefs with his actions; his goal is to protect children from the big, bad phonies in the world yet he is a fraud himself. But in the end he realizes that you have to let things go. Nobody can be the Catcher in the Rye.

Rating:
Summary: Pure Brilliance!!! As relevant today as it was 40 years ago.
Review: I first read this book two years ago when I was still in high school. Since then I've read it about twenty times and I just never get bored with it. Several authors over the years have tried to duplicate this milestone in American literature, but none have been comparable to Salinger. Close matches in the same genre are such novels as FAR FROM NOWHERE, GENERATION X, and BRIGHT LIGHTS BIG CITY, but CATCHER is still the best.

Rating:
Summary: I was not impressed.
Review: After reading reviews for this book, I dug it up in my dad's old books and read it. It stunk. It seemed to me that Holden spent too much time whining. It was fluff. If you have the desire to read a book that goes nowhere in 200 pages, read this book!

Rating:
Summary: "BAD WORDS"
Review: I thought that the book was quite bouring, and was not interested in the point it was making. I really don't care if you like the book or not the language used in the book made it weak. I'm not some activists that thinks it should be baned from school, but the point of the noval was lost in the continues swaring.

Rating:
Summary: Get a life!
Review: I read the book and thought it was terrible; there were too many simbles and too much description,there was not enough chericterization, and a poor use of language! You don't have to use "bad words" make your point. BUY THE CLIFFS NOTES, DON'T REED THE BOOK!

Rating:
Summary: Engrossing atmosphere
Review: Once a year, during the summertime, I read this book. This ritual has gone on for five years now, and I cant wait to read it again. I feel his solitude and despair with society. I find it quite atmospheric, especially when he hits new york. Hanging out in the bars, talking to the prostitute in a seedy hotel room. It is a really easy read and I enjoy every second of it.

Rating:
Summary: this book changed my life.
Review: when i was 13 and going through a bout of depression, my father recommended reading Catcher. it was a rite of passage for him and it was even more important to me. at a time when i felt that no one could understand, and that everyone was wearing a mask, here was a book that gave me a character to identify with. Holden Caulfield: at once apathetic and also highly motivated; anti-social and misanthropic and yet fanatic about social rituals-- an adolescent troubled, yet intelligent. reading about Holden's journey through New York City made me realize that much of adolesence is the same now as it was then.

Rating:
Summary: Different Kind Of Reading-Expand of What You Know!
Review: Never had i read such a book like The Catcher in the Rye. I suggest it to anyone that is looking for something different. It takes you through the main characters life. He is very witty and blunt (straight forward). For it's time (50's) is was banned from the schools because of it's lanuage and topic(s). A must read for people ages 12+ E-mail me for more info or to discuss or ask me questions at [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Great amazing characters
Review: Right now I am sixteen and in the midst of adolescence. I have heard that one can't truly understand the book till they are past this stage, and I tend to agree with them, because every time I have read this book, I have gained some new understanding of it. I see many of my friends in the book, it captures the pretentiousness of adolescence perfectly. I can understand now how naive and ludicrous Holden's statements about "phonies" are, but at the same time it seems holden is trying to make all his scattered cynnical views convalesce into something more concrete. And there is something quite romantic about his journey through New York. Definitely the book's strongest points are the characterizations. You have to love how Holden describes Stradlatter and all the various girls he goes out with.This year I am going to read the book again for English, and I'm sure that it will once again be a completely new experience.