The Catcher in the Rye

Rating:
Summary: This Book Changed My Life
Review: "Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around - nobody big, I mean - except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff - I mean if there running and they don't look where they're going" [224]. That is the fantasy of Holden Caulfield as he describes it to his younger sister. It is the desperation to achieve this goal of the preservation of innocence that leads to Holden's mental destruction.

Holden Caulfield has been the only character in a novel that I have been able to relate to as closely as I have. I go to a prepschool in New England and the relation to what goes on at Pencey Prep [the prep-school of Holden] is very similiar to what goes on now at the prep-school I attend. It is the way this book can be relevant and current so many years after that makes it a classic.

I would recommend this book to everyone of all ages and I think it would be hard not to enjoy this novel by J.D. Salinger. Masterpieces and classics will last forever.

Rating:
Summary: Catcher in the rye
Review: I thought that this book was an interesting novel. The context of the book is very conversational. I liked it because the Austhor let you look deep into the charachter to see what he was actually thinking. The reason why I rate this book a 3 instead of a $ or 5 is because of the plot. The plot is very slow movin and was difficult for me to stay with it. One third of each chapter is rambling about irrrelevant topics that arise is the narrators head. OTher than that, The style, perspective and thoughts of the author helped persuade me to rate this book a 3 Star.

Rating:
Summary: The Catcher in the Rye
Review: The Catcher in the Rye is a wonderful portrayal of teenage life. The way in which Salinger shows Holden Caulfield going through depression is phenomonal. The things I truly liked about the book was the accuracy of teenage bitterness toward the world. This bitterness is shown by Caulfield's sarcastic views on his school and his surroundings. The phoniness in Caulfield's life and his hypocritical outbursts of phoniness in an effort to be happy as his peers are truly makes a connection to teens everywhere. The way which Caulfield views things that are happening in his life really makes you feel for Caulfield while also almost coming to hate him. Caulfield's character deals with a self caused anger at the world and needs to somehow get over it. He seems to point out everything that is wrong with the world and nothing that is right. Caulfield goes through a list of girlfriends who almost none he truly seems to like. He also seemingly has no friends with the exception of a younger sister who seems to connect to him while also noticing that his depression is caused within himself. Caulfield seems to know this throughout the novel and his actions speak loudly about the way he feels. The Catcher in the Rye is an absolute must read for teens everywhere. I do not read much but this is a book that I truly felt I connected with and I am truly happy that I picked this book up off of the shelf.

Rating:
Summary: Generic title.
Review: When things take on the label of classic they tend to fall under heavy scrutiny and skeptical viewing. This is no exception. I'd known the title through book references and what not but it was not until a friend of mine took great displeasure in reading it and voiced his displeasure for the book that I grew somewhat interested. I read the first 20 pages or so through the amazon book previewer and what I read blew me away even with the warning that it was not an enjoyable book. But I figured it had to get boring or perverse as it progressed so I didn't think much of it for some time. After hearing numerous students around school voicing their extreme displeasure with the book and its main character I grew intrigued once again. How could a book that was so good get so many poor opinions from my classmates? With this new curiosity I re-read the short preview and still found it as entertaining as ever, so I made it a point to track down a copy. I finished it in 1 day and a half of reading, which translates to roughly 4 or 5 hours of total reading whenever I had time. And even once while reading did I even have someone interrupt me from reading it and comment about how he was displeased with the book because of "its Whole Kurt Cobain "Life sucks" philosophy", but at that point I was already pages away from finishing and loved it, so opinions didn't even register feelings of doubt in my mind. Over all this book is, even in spite of all the negative opinions that may have tainted my opinion in the beginning, one of my top five favorite books of all time. Its cheep, its considered a classic (but than again allot of awful books are so don't go on that fact), and its without a doubt one of the most entertaining books you will ever read.

Rating:
Summary: Over-rated boring garbage
Review: I think the only reason this book ever got acclaim is that it used the eff-word in 1951. The hypocritical main character is a rich spoiled brat who could care less for anyone he meets, then is appalled to be alone. I read the Cliff Notes in high school to get by this book and should have read them again instead of actually wasting time and energy reading this drivel. If you want to read classic American literature PLEASE avoid this garbage, try Stienbeck, Faulkner, Hemingway, hell even Stephen King is better than this over-rated crap. Salinger is the real phony here.

Rating:
Summary: The Catcher in the Rye
Review: J.D. Salinger's, The Catcher in the Rye, is an exceptional portrayal of the problems and situations that teenagers experience in their lifetime. Holden Caulfield, a seventeen-year-old boy, writes about his previous expulsion from Pencey Prep. He tries to cope with the death of his younger brother, his obsession for lying, and the problem relationships with his peers and teachers.

Before Holden came to Pencey Prep, he lived a hard life. His father is an obsessive businessman, and his mother has yet to recover from the death of his younger brother, Allie. Holden fails in school, tends to get drunk and uses vulgar language.

Throughout the rest of the novel, Holden encounters other students and teachers that just don't understand him and give him a hard time. Mr. Spenser, his history teacher tries to be sympathetic to Holden's problems, however he fails after a while because it is sometimes frustrating communicating with Holden. The headmaster asks Holden to leave the prep school as he is failing four of five classes and not applying himself. Holden returns home, borrows money from his ten-year-old sister, Phoebe, and leaves for the night. After that night, Holden decides to leave home, for good, and head west. Phoebe begs to leave with him, but Holden refuses. He remains confused about returning to school. The novel ends with Holden in a mental institution.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Catcher in the Rye because of the complex problems that Holden faces throughout the novel. Not all plotlines have to portray perfect lives of people. It is nice to have a different and unique plotline for once. It relays real-life experiences that teenagers still face today. Although this book was written 50 years ago, it remains a good lesson for children and young adults to learn today. This book kept me on the edge of my seat, wondering what was going to happen next. I read it all in about 3 hours, and I usually don't like to read books, however this book was different; I never wanted to put it down. Just remember, like Holden, be true to yourself, but don't overdo it and waste your life failing out of classes and getting drunk. The first step to success is succeeding in yourself and knowing who you are and what you have to do to succeed.

Rating:
Summary: An American Classic
Review: By now, most people know this book as the American classic that it is. The problem comes in with the current generation and the differences that divide those generations. When CATCHER IN THE RYE first came out, it was in an era of no MTV, no computers, and little television. That and the economic and social climate of the times made CATCHER'S appearance all the more starteling. So it must be understood in context of when it was written (like everything else) to fully appreciate its impact. CATCHER is right in line with HUCK FINN, TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, BARK OF THE DOGWOOD, and a host of other books that use the child narrator (in this case, teenager) voice to tell the story. And like those other books, it has its own pacing, rhythm, and social-economic background that make it "sing." Consider too that this book, along with HUCK FINN and BARK OF THE DOGWOOD have all at one time or another, been banned by most libraries--just all the more reason to read them!

Rating:
Summary: Holden Caulfield
Review: Don't you just hate it when you read a book where the main character is nothing like the way he or she would be in real life? Well Catcher in the Rye is nothing like that. The main character, Holden Caulfield, acts just as a regular teenager would act (although probably not as they should act).

Holden Caulfield is an angst-ridden adolescent. He is constantly talking about how everyone around him is a phony. He understands how everyone puts on an act to impress other people. He is a moderately intelligent boy who doesn't apply himself at school, so he keeps flunking out.

At his most recent school, Pencey Prep, Holden was surrounded by kids that he didn't like. For example, Holden's roommate, Ward Stradlater. Stradlater is a stuck-up, handsome kid. He thinks he can get any girl he wants, and he's probably right. But he thinks he can walk all over everyone. A boy in the next room over, Robert Ackley has many flaws. First of all, he's completely unsanitary. He never brushes his teeth, and he's always popping his zits in public. Secondly, he is completely obnoxious and can't take a hint when people want him to leave. Finally, he is always lying about having had sexual intercourse.

So because he's tired of being surrounded by morons and phonies (and because he's flunked out) Holden runs away from Pencey. He is loaded with cash, so he decides to take a train into New York City and stay there until he's ready to go home. The rest of the story recounts his adventures in the City.

For example, on the train to NYC, Holden runs into the mother of the biggest jerk at his school. She is a nice, pretty woman. Holden gives her a fake name and lies through his teeth about the boy. He tells her that her son is the most popular kid in the school, and that the rest of the student body at Pencey wanted to nominate him for president, but he was too modest.

After having a few more adventures of the like, Holden decides to visit his nine-year-old sister Phoebe. His family doesn't know that he got chucked out of Pencey yet, so he has to hide from them. Phoebe is quite a talker. From the moment Holden gets there, she doesn't stop talking. And she's so smart. She realizes all of a sudden that Holden got thrown out, and she is angry with him for the rest of the night. This is the climax of the book, because this is the first time you see the sensitive side of Holden, and because his relationship with Phoebe is very important to him.

If you want to read a book with interesting characters, sophisticated writing, and exciting plot, then The Catcher in the Rye is the book for you. Holden, Phoebe, Ackley, and Stradlater are all colorfully depicted in this eloquently written novel. J. D. Salinger's writing matches the speech of a teenager in the fifties perfectly. Holden's adventures in the Big Apple will keep your eyes glued to the page.

Rating:
Summary: a decent book to buy
Review: Catcher in the rye was a book about a boy from a private school. THis book was interesting to me because i go to a private school in new england. The style of the book is different from others because the context of the conversations and dialogue are extremely conversational. The book was written to be a more conversational, easygoing narrated book. The main charachter, goes through troubles to make sure that he is pleased. He does what he has to do in his dorm and else where. This book had a very good message but The lack of plot was what brought me to rate this book the way i did.

Rating:
Summary: A MUST-READ, MUSTREAD BOOK
Review: Since its publication in 1951, J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye has been deemed as a classic both in literary quality as well as in its narrative, storytelling appeal.

In short, the novel tells the story of teenager Holden Caulfield, over the course of a few days following yet another expulsion from an upper tier private school. The book is told in a first person perspective, straight from Holden to the reader. It's really a pretty simple style, and it works on two levels-one: pulling in the reader with relatively simple prose, and, two: the simplicity of the style reiterates Holden's simplicity (youth) as a character.

The following review contains very few details about the book's plot.

Holden, as a character, is a cocky youthful male who has been given most of what he has in life; yet he does not appreciate what he has, or even the world around him at all. He is an extremely cynical soul, fed up with the phonies around him, fantasizing about fleeing west to get away from everything. He can't even find social outlets like dating, friendship, or movies to be a rewarding activity as, again, it's all too phony.

While the story is over fifty years old, it holds up with its powerful characterization, strong sense of setting (mostly NYC), and timeless sense of an individual looking to find a place. Holden's quest is, although exaggerated beyond most people's level of cynicism, one that anyone can relate feel to at least a minimal degree.

The book's depth, though, comes from the fact that Holden is not the simple boy he first seems. In truth, by following his thoughts and actions over the course of the book, the reader sees him beyond his face value, beyond the youthful façade and into the head and heart of a real, rounded person with complex emotions that even he cannot understand. This comes across most clearly through Holden's interactions with his sister, and his revelations about his brothers, Allie and D.B.

If a label must be given, I would refer to Catcher in the Rye as a coming of age story, although Holden does not leave at book's end as a mature adult, rather a more-developed human being with a somewhat greater understanding of the confusing world around him.

Due to the simple storytelling style, this book is readable to about anyone-not just those with acquired literary tastes, and the content and themes do not go over an average person's head. While it may be a classic, it's no T.S. Eliot, and any reader should be able to enjoy it. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a relatively quick read about youth, cynicism, family relationships, or just easy, after work reading. The book is quite amusing as Holden takes on a variety of characters from all walks of life, offering commentaries on their lesser traits. Another great book I'd like to recommend is The Loser's Club by Richard Perez -- another Amazon quick pick winner.