The Catcher in the Rye

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Summary: The cynicism of adolescence
Review: Simply put - if you have never read this book, buy it. It's a timeless piece that is as fresh and modern today as it was when it was first written. Don't be fooled by peoples assertion's that its fame has been garnered from its vulgarity or its abusive use of directness.

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Summary: Given Far Too Much Credit
Review: "The Catcher in the Rye" is a book told in the first-person by a cynical, confused, and angry adolescent named Holden Caulfield. He has something against everyone it seems, doesn't know what he wants in life or anything, and criticizes everyone around him for flaws that he himself owns.

Many are led to believe that "The Catcher in the Rye" is a grand work of literature because it's very direct. This is incorrect. "The Catcher in the Rye" has gained all this notoriety for one simple reason: it's got plenty of cursing about everything you can think of.

Holden Caulfield spends the vast majority of this book complaining. It was a true struggle to read this in high school, and I was amazed at first that my friends were thinking so highly of it. Then it hit me: they love the cursing. The fact that the protagonist of something they have to read in school has a foulmouth, despite the fact that there is nothing of any merit or worth of praise in this book, is what sells it.

I don't have a problem with cursing. I do it myself a bit. The problem is that this book has no material. The cursing is the only substance in the book, and it's not enough to fill a short story, let alone a novel. There is nothing holding it together except for the fact that Holden is there and he is every 12 year old who goes through puberty, except he's 16 and has major psychological problems, none of which are interesting or realistic at all. A book in this fashion could have been written about almost any other adolescent and been more interesting.

Critics praise this book for being honest. This really wasn't any sort of breakthrough that needed pointing out, especially the fact that there's nothing here worth reading. The only thing I see in this book is Salinger's own immaturity. Not worth your time, but you probably already read it in high school or are going to. Just get through it, pass, and then you won't have to look back at it. Those who are done with it already... hurray for us, we're done with it.

-Escushion

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Summary: A Modern Classic by J.D. Salinger
Review: J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye is an excellent book. It talks about a troubled kid named Holden Caulfield and he talks about his life in High School. I thought it was interesting to read because it is written like Holden is talking to you personally. I have read the book The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and they are both very similiar.

It's a good book, but certain people might not like it because it just kind of talks about this kid and what his life is like and what happens to him over a few days. So if that kind of thing interests you, then it's a great book to read.

Rating:
Summary: A pleasure to read
Review: J.D. Salinger's lively narrative makes "Catcher in the Rye" irresistably funny and fascinating, as well as troubling. Salinger shows a terrific ear for dialogue -- not just spoken conversation, but also the fast-spinning thoughts of Holden Caulfield, the book's 16-year-old protagonist.

Caulfied is a teenager overflowing with negativity, sarcasm and cynicism. He seems to hate almost everything, including movies, actors, cheap luggage, guys who shake hands too hard, friends who yawn when asking for a favor, and people who say "good luck."

It might seem that such relentless negativity would drag a book down, but Salinger offers just enough glimpses beneath Holden's bitter exterior for the reader to discover an endearing, but troubled, boy underneath. For example, he takes a curious interest in what happens to Central Park's ducks when winter comes. Though this book was written in the 1940s, you can't help thinking -- in light of the Columbine shootings and other teen violence -- about how it can help us understand today's troubled youths.

There are two things that keep me from giving this five stars. First, despite all he experiences in the course of the story I'm not sure Holden changes much. Sure, his sister and a teacher both challenge his attitudes in the latter part of the book, but he still hates the "stupid questions" everyone asks. Second, while Holden's comments and observations are so often funny and insightful, he sometimes seems far too wise for his years. I know I wasn't this introspective and people-smart at age 16, nor do I know anyone who was.

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Summary: READ IT - AGAIN AND AGAIN - YOU'LL BE AMAZED!
Review: THE CATCHER IN THE RYE is a book everyone should read a few times, at different stages in their lives, so they can come to appreciate the subtlety of Salinger's creation--Holden--and to gain some comfort in knowing that, sooner or later, you can find your way out of that terribly lonely place. A classic, to be sure, which, like all great books, rewards you anew at each reading. Hopefully you didn't have the book ruined for you by your overeager English teacher. At any rate, go find copy today and read it again. Also recommended: THE LOSERS' CLUB by Richard Perez

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Summary: hilarious, and subtly profound
Review: First of all, this has gotta be the funniest book i've ever read. I'm a sucker for sarcasm, and Holden is full of it. Second, this is also one of the most touching books I've ever read. The scene between Holden and Phoebe comes particularly to mind.

This book has often been criticized for the hyper-critical temperment of it's protagonist. This is a shame, and an ironic one, since these reviewers entirely miss the point, like reading the gospels and poo-pooing the crucifixion without regard to the ressurection. True, Holden, due to his hightened sensitivity, is especially irritable and intolerant, forever chastizing people (though generally not to their faces, as he is an avowed coward; no less critical of himself than of others) for everything under the sun, and in particular, for being phony. But, the attentive reader will notice that after nearly all of these self-righteous tirades he reflects that the people are somehow not to blame for thier faults, which, ugly as they are, only end by inspiring his sympathy. It makes a profound point, namely, that the things most deserving and in the greatest need of our sympathy and compassion are, more often than not, the things least likely to inspire them (at least, at first glance). One of my favorite lines, to illustrate this point, is "'It's no fun being yellow'".

This was my favorite book when i was younger (later supplanted by The Brothers Karamazov) and i must've read it at least four times. At one point Holden says that he likes books with a little humor in them, books that, when you finish them, make you wish you could sit down with the author and just shoot the bull for a little while. There's no one i'd rather shoot the bull with than J.D. Salinger. Let's hope that someday he'll see fit to publish the purported sixteen novels he's got locked up in his safe.

Also recommended: Franny and Zooey

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Summary: So overrated...
Review: I don't think there's young adult out there who didn't have to read this as part of their highschool english curriculum (unless perhaps you are from a very conservative area). It's not a bad book but I would certainly rank it as one of the most overrated books of all time. Salinger's plot techniques always struck me as pretentious and melodramatic, but considering I am one of the only people who did not "absolutely looove" this book when forced to read it in 9th grade, he obviously knows what the teenage reader wants.

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Summary: Still relevant, still hilarious
Review: I always passed over this book because I thought it would be dry - one of those old classics they force kids to read in school. It turned out to be one of the best books I've read this year. Laugh-out-loud funny in several places. It was written sixty years ago but the quality of the observations and satire hasn't faded. It's a quick read but it's so full of endearing characters, amusing situations and snarky comments that it's a shame when it ends. Highly recommended.

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Summary: Catcher in the Rye review:
Review: I just finished reading Catcher in the Rye, and I sorry that I didn't read this sooner in life. Honestly, when I was in high school, I didn't have the desire to read this book. I didn't know what it was about, and I was sure that it was going to be another one of those boring books that droned on and on about stuff I didn't care about. Boy (old Holden is rubbing off on me) was I wrong. I don't know if there is a way to sum up the story. There seems to be many stories in one. It starts out with Holden saying that he's at a place "resting", and he goes on to narrate how he ended up in that place.

So, he tells about his life from the time he got kicked out of Penecy Prep until his eventual journey home. One thing is certain -- I can definitely see why people would see this as the bible for the "teenage angst" generation. I enjoyes this book for the simple fact that it gave an honest look into a seventeen-year-old boy's life. Holden is cynical, introspective, and painfully honest. I don't know if Salinger really meant for people to "like" Holden more so than he meant for them to try to understand Holden's views on life.

You're presented with a cynical adolescent who has no obvious direction in his life, yet at the same time he manages to be very intelligent. You're faced with his ideas on sex, school, phony people, etc. Holden makes no apologies for being who he is, and I appreciated that. The only gripe that I had with this book was that sometime the author seemed to be getting a little too much into the whole "teenage angst" deal. Some parts of the book had me snorting and rolling my eyes because it seem wildly overdramatic. All-in-all, it was a great book.

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Summary: Brilliant in it's simplicity
Review: I hate poetry because it doesn't get to the point like communication should. When I was assigned this book at school I spent time looking for some hidden meaning. I came to the conclusion that salinger was almost retarded when compared to vonnegut or C.S. lewis's complicated writings. After thinking about the book during the summer, I realized that this book wasn't trying to prove anything (even Salinger says that himself) it was just a simple book about life. I knew what Salinger wanted and why he wrote it that way.