The Catcher in the Rye

Rating:
Summary: My favorite book
Review: I just finished reading this book for the second time. The first time I read the book was 7 years ago as a senior in high school. I find that even as a successful adult, I still identify with Holden Caulfield.

The book iteself deals with the a day in the life of a trouble adolescent, who has found the world to be riddled with phonies. Some of the observations Holden makes are very profound for an adolescent. Some see Holden as a boy who hates everything, but this is not what is found as you read into the character. Holden has a great deal of love and compassion in his heart. However, based in the fact that he is young and still learning about the world and the fact that he borders on manic depression, he has trouble expressing love or perhaps even knowing what love is.

Overall, this story of the rebel without a cause is well written and is still equipped to give us some insight into the lives of both adolescents and people in general. I love this book so much that I will likely read it again some day. I hope some day there is a quality movie version of this book.

Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece...Read This Book!!!
Review: This is my favorite book of all time. I am amazed at the ability of Salinger to peer into the minds of his characters and pull out an illusion that anyone can witness and feel. His short stories do the same, inviting you on a psychological endeavor into the minds of fictional characters. These are thoughts and actions we all can relate to and it makes the characters much more interesting when this can be done. All of Salinger's work is very unique and very special, but this story in it's entirety is on another, a higher, level of greatness. In my opinion, Catcher in the Rye is one of the greatest books ever written. Read it. The paperback is cheaper, but you might want to spend the extra money to place this one on your display shelf for multiple readings and admiration.

Rating:
Summary: Truly a down to earth book...
Review: Catcher in the Rye is truly a great book. If you ask me to describe this book. The first word to come in mind is, "hilarious". Holden Caufield has remarks that are extremely funny but yet quite true. He's a person that you'd want to meet and have a cup of tea with. This story is about a young man named Holden Caufield, who doesn't know which trail to take in life. He's very undecided in life which leads him throughout many timeless adventures. A compulsive liar he is, which makes the story even more interesting. There were moments in the story which were extremely heart warming, especially his relationship with his younger sister. It's hard to put into words about this wonderful book. You just have to read it for yourself to see!

Rating:
Summary: Holden Caulfield is the greatest character in contemp. lit.
Review: I love this book. It is, by far, one of the most incredible books ever written. Incredible for several reasons: 1. Symbolism (this book should be read multiple times, once to analyze symbolism, the next read for what it is) 2. Honesty 3. Humanity 4. Heart 5. Emotion 6. Holden This book has connected with me on so many levels. There is a little of us all in Holden, and a little Holden in all of us. Everyone should read this novel, it will change your life.

Rating:
Summary: Best Thematic Book
Review: I wouldn't necessarily call catcher the best book ever written, all im saying is that I can't think of another one better right now. And it all has to do with the themes, the fear of change, call growing up if you want, but really its holden's fear of change that drives the book. The most important and satisfying part in the book is when Holden is walking through Central Park and is thinking about how he went to the Museum of Natural history as a young kid but than doesn't go inside when he gets to the museum as a teenager. The museum is the most important symbol/theme in the book, it represents Holden's memory, and most of all his purity which he is losing through changes forced upon him by the outside. I guess this is not really a review but also, this book is much more relevant I feel to people in their early twenties getting out of college than it is to high school students, because real life begins at 22. Changes are forced, and you wish you had a museum to go to.

Rating:
Summary: Catcher In the Rye
Review: I am going to keep this very brief because I don't know how to begin to write about this book. This is, quite simply, one of the most amazing pieces of art that I have ever encountered. The way this book presents the life of its protagonist (Holden Caulfield, who is an absolutely fantastic character) is amazing. It is simaltaneously hilarious and emotionally powerful. The whole book has a melancholy feeling; a sense of loss runs through it. A beautiful book... I also think that I should mention that it is often grossly misrepresented: "Only serial killers read that book." Whatever. That is not what this book is about at all.
Read Franny and Zooey also.

Rating:
Summary: The catcher in the rye
Review: The Catcher in the Rye.

The Catcher in de Rye, written by J.D. Salinger is a good book. It's about a young boy, Holdon. He's only 16 years old. He tells us the story of his life. It's a funny book, sometimes one has to laugh very hard. Other times, it's a little bit boring.

Holden, the main character of the book, is kicked out of Pencey Prep, when the story begins. He tells about his life at Pencey. It's funny how he describes it: he's only sixteen years old, but sometimes you think he's an adult. He's very clever, but also very lazy, that's the reason why he's kicked out at Pencey. That part of the book I like most. Certainly when he tells about his roommates, I had to laugh a lot.

The second part of the book, when he left Pencey, is more complicated. He is in New York all the time, and he doesn't dare to go home because his parents will get very angry. They don't know yet that he's kicked out at Pencey. He misses his little sister Phoebe most. He's spending much money. He goes to cheap hotels and he drinks a lot. He calls old friends and he thinks a lot about his childhood, about his dead brother Allie, about his life. He always uses the word 'phony', for instance for people he doesn't like. That word is cool, but he uses it too much, I think.

After strolling in New York a few days, Holdon decides to go home. There he finds support by his little sister Phoebe. She's a very nice person, he likes her very much. In the end of the story, he goes home, but he doesn't want to tell what happened then.

It isn't an easy book to read, there's a lot of spoken American language in it, for instance 'helluva' and 'watcha', I don't like that much. The vocabulary isn't easy, a few times I had to use a dictionary. The story is fascinating, but you spent a lot of time to read the whole book because there's much text on each page.

The story has a few strange turnings, for instance when he left the house of Mr Antolini. Some things I didn't understand, but the story in general, I understood. This isn't a boring story. In the beginning, I thought it was a stupid story, because I didn't understand a lot of words. But when you keep reading, you start to understand the words better because you are in the English mood.

At last, what I liked the most about this book, is the title, and how it's explained in the book. Holdon is standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. He has to catch all the little kids - that are playing there in the big field of rye - that starts to go over the cliff. That he does all day. He's the catcher in the Rye.

Rating:
Summary: timeless story about the teenage experience
Review: The story, taken at face value is definately worth 4 stars. Funny at some points and touching at others, those who enjoy reading will enjoy this book. The story takes place over a few days in the life of a cynical 16 year-old. We see the world through his eyes, his observations of the people around him and their behavior.

There is more there than just a story: "The Catcher in the Rye" is taught in schools around the world for a reason. Really, this book is about the teenage experience, about growing up and alienation. These are things that we can all relate to.

Read this book at least once; if you want to take something away from this book, you will. Otherwise, it's still a good story.

Rating:
Summary: The Search For One's Self
Review: The Catcher in the Rye is one of the most moving books I have ever read. With that said, I have not given the novel 5 stars, because it does have some flaws, and with that, comes some disappointment. None of that comes from the novel's main character though. Holden Caulfield is one of the most intruging and lost souls ever created. The way he searches for himself in this novel is unbelievable. We feel sorry for him, and sympathise with him, and the weird thing is, we don't even realize that we're doing it. He is so hypnotic that by the end of the novel, we are just like him, and actually want to be like him. We wish we could be as courageous as he was. It's amazing that a novel could have that much power on you, but The Catcher in the Rye actually does.

Rating:
Summary: Good, But Not Worth All the Hype It Gets
Review: There are many good things to say about "Catcher in the Rye" and no bad things that I can think of. It is very well written, Holden Caulfield is very realistic, the dialogue (now forty years old!) is still up-to-date and believeable, and the story is coherent, logical, and meaningful. It does a good job of capturing adolescent thinking, feeling, and life, especially for an adolescent who has no particular exceptionality or talent.

Many people call it a classic, or the best of its kind. That baffles me. For all of the nice things I wrote above, I can give it only a B+; it never grabbed my interest. When I read a story I really like, it pulls me into its world and I walk side-by-side with its characters. I see what they see, hear what they hear, and, while I might not always think what they think, I can usually see where their thinking comes from. That just doesn't happen for me with "Catcher in the Rye". Perhaps it's because I don't like Holden Caulfield. Adolescent can be narcissistic and cynical, but Holden is too extreme in these areas for me to like him or identify with him. As far as being the best of the coming-of-age stories, my vote goes to S.E. Hinton's "The Outsiders".