The Catcher in the Rye

Rating:
Summary: Definately worth reading
Review: When I first began reading this book, I couldn't quite realise why it was rated so incredibly highly by many. Sure, it was a good read and an interesting character story, but it seemed to have flaws. Its pretty much a given that the plot is hardly a page-turner, though I came to see this wasn't the point - it is a view into the world of the protagonist. And we don't always love the protaganist. He is likable and lifelike as a character, but his rich-boy angst can wear out and the constant use of the phrase 'This made me feel depressed' particularly irritated me, as it tended to be applied to rather minor afflictions. The idea of millions of teens reading the book and "connecting" with his angst seems a little bit 'corny', as Caulfield might put it.

However, we don't have to believe in the perfection of the character to enjoy the book (the most interesting characters are always the ones with deliberate flaws), and the narration is buoyed by a genuinely acute and witty sense of humour and some valid observations about the world that ring true. I find it hard to say its one of the greatest books I've ever read - the language, though distinctive and realistic, isn't exactly rich or beautiful, contrasted with, say, Kerouac's 'On The Road', written around the same time, is also a sort of narrative monologue, and also uses modern language rather than the classical - but in a way that bursts with life and beauty. However, 'Catcher In The Rye' is the kind of book that you ought to read at some point in your life and I'm glad that I have - it is an interesting work and a good one, if not one of my favourites of all time.

Rating:
Summary: Catcher in the Rye
Review: Catcher in the Rye is easily one of the most brilliant books ever written. It is wildly entertaining but also very deep. If I had to pick only 5 books to read over and over again for the rest of my life, this would be on that list, and probably in the top two or three. Very few classic works of literature from the United States are actually worth reading, but this book is the exception. Everyone should read this at some point in their lives.

Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: This is a little masterpiece of a book which is told beautifully in the first person.It narrates the cynical thoughts of its hero cleverly and compulsively as he goes to new york for three days after getting kicked out of school.That is the plot for what it's worth,but the book is mainly about author Salingers cynical take on life and the human race(I suppose this is why,even now,he's a recluse).The hero of the book,Holden Caulfield,is grieving over his dead brother and this is,in my humble opinion,salingers device for putting older more cynical thoughts into his young heros'.I do feel that we all learn of the "phoniness" as we grow up but I would have found it a little hard to swallow that such a young man could be SO extreme without Salingers device.On the subject of phoniness I'm sure we could all talk for hours.For me,what makes this a great book is the prose which is fantastic.

Rating:
Summary: A classic; just as important today as when it first appeared
Review: The Catcher in the Rye is a classic novel whose significance should not be overlooked in this day and age of Prozac Nations, Girl Interrupted, and general teenage depression and burnout. The book is deceptively simple in the tale it has to tell, but effectively still underscores a powerful yearning to return to a simpler time in his life. Teenagers feeling overburdened with their lives will gain a lot from reading this book, as will the parents who love them.

Rating:
Summary: From a kid that sat throught the class.
Review: This is what society calls good? Ive spent weeks on end by my self in situations like this and let me tell you as an adolcent teen it doenst work like that. The book over analyzes things. Like the over emphais on sex, smoking and drinking. While both are a mjor part of a teens life they do not entirely consume it. And prostition? Come on, would an 16 year old really resort to a hooker? All in all the writing was good becuase as you can probably tell i have no respect for proper english. The swearing was tried and poor, It was like a five year old trying to impress his brothers older friends. After reading the whole book im left with questions, not about what happend, but what would compell a person to write a story in this style.

Rating:
Summary: You should have been there
Review: The reason I read this book is because it is a classic, and I want to be a person who know the classics, if you want to know the truth. What can I say, I have inferior complex. So when I started reading this book I kept wondering: what the sonlvabitch is talking about? It is not like a classical classic at all! But eventually I stopped being phony and start enjoying it just for the hell of it.

This book is about this boy and he was so lost. You take a 16-year old boy, put some dough in his pocket, and place him in New York City, and boy, was he lost! He was smoking like hell and drinking his head off!

But deep inside he wasn't that bad. He is quite an observer and even witty, if you ask me. He knows who is phony when he sees one. Well, he is quite a phony himself, but at least he realizes it. Another thing is that he is very kind and sensitive and all. He cares about if the ducks will go south in winter --- how many adults worry about that kind of question? We probably worry more about if our stocks will go south or not. And he knows that letting others to express their feelings is much more important than "sticking to the topic" and getting a good grade in Oral Expression class. That is pretty witty, if you ask me.

I enjoyed that part about this museum he was talking about. It killed me. It really did. I used to skip class just to horse around this goddamn museum.

Now that I am a parent and all, I will tell you what I got out of this book: you have to be there, when your kid is all depressed and lonesome. You can't just make a lot of dough for him and send him to a phony prep school and think you are a goddamn good parent. You have to be with him --- not to keep telling him to apply himself, but to listen to him. You know why he likes to shoot bull with Phoebe? Because she listens! That kid can listen! You have to be there when he is depressed as hell over his dead classmate and dead brother, when he worrys about not having enough sexual experience, things like that. So next time he doesn't have to seek guidance from some college guy who won't listen after all at 10pm in a goddamn bar! You can't just give the work to some psychoanalyst, you have to be the catcher who catches the kid before they fall off the cliff!

Rating:
Summary: Possibly one of the Worst stories I have ever read
Review: This book was quite simplistic to read, so I gave it a star for that...but the story, or lack there, was awful. I am 15 years old and all I got out of this book is no wonder adults hate teenagers. The narrator, Holden Caulfield, complains throughout the story. Basically he is an umotivated rich kid obsessed with sex. Maybe I am an exception to the whole teenage thing, but I really could not relate to his view on the world. (If Holden met me, he would hate me I think)

Rating:
Summary: low rated reviewers are whiners
Review: I have to say I haven't read this book since High School. But I think I would like to read it again. Because I doubt I understood it back then.

All I have to say is it sounds like many people are giving it a bad review for swearing and behavior generally unbecoming of a teenage male (and then calling the good review posters 'close minded'). This is sad. Whether you like it or not, nowadays teenagers drink, swear, and, well, at least TALK about prostitutes. I know, I was a teenager once. Most teenagers aren't impressionable enough to take up drinking, swearing and the use of prostitutes after reading this book-- if they don't do it already. So you can relax, parents. This book may have been edgy for 1951; nowadays I would think it equates with a PG-13 teen drama.

I'm giving the book a neutral 3 stars having not re-read it, but I wanted to get my little comment out here.

PS, it's the story that counts, not the 'plot'.

Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable book
Review: "Catcher in the rye" is a novel about adolescence. It is the story of a fugitive, a sixteen year-old boy, Holden, who is expelled from his school three days before Christmas and doesn't dare come back home to face his parents. Three days of vagrancy and sordid, touching adventures, with worries and anxiety, in search of himself or the others. The story of a lost kid who looks for reasons to live in an hostile and corrupt world.
I think that it is not so much the outcome which is important and interesting in this novel, but the functioning of the mind and feelings of this teenager who, beyond his teenage immaturity, understands the life with a spontaneity and a truth that a lot of adults do not use anymore. With his own words, he describes the world and the people. As he refuses to loose his own innocence, just the children (and especially his little sister Phoebie) enchant him. He wants to be a catcher in the rye to keep the kids from falling off the cliff: to keep them from the "phonies" of the world.
In this book, we have a complicity with the narrator because he writes like he speaks and like he thinks, which also gives a humorous touch to the novel.
"Catcher in the rye" touched me a lot by the worries and difficulties Holden is confronted with and the point of view he gives on the world.

Rating:
Summary: A good book for some, dreadful for others.
Review: I had to read this book for my high school english class. I had moderate optomism about the book. The Catcher in the Rye is about the misadventures of a young teen named Holden, who just go kicked out of his forth private school. I automatically thought about a rebelellious teenager whih grabbed my attention. He goes from one location to another, from school to NYC, to a mental hospital where he tells this story. Many people respect and appreciate this book and the work of the skilled author, J.D. Salinger, but they also say that you either love the book or hate the book. As much as I can respect this book, I have to say I can't stand the story.

Salinger does write the book in a style that I like. The scenes and descriptions described in the book are so vivid and realistic that I can easily picture everything in my head, detail to detail. The characters that Holden encounters have the same detail put into them as the settings and situations, from their looks, to attitude and demeanor, to even their bad habits.

However, as good as the detail is in the books, the story itself is the root of any good novel. This is where this book's quality plummets badly and my optimistic attitude therefore plummited dramitcally. First off, this novel is lacking a large element that puts a good book together: plot. I read the book, beginning to end, and there is none. There is not a single thing that would show that the story has a plot or a task at hand. Most would say that the task for Holden is to get home after being kicked out of school, but a large chunk of this book is all side treks, diverting away from the main situation at hand, resulting in a novel about nothing. This really makes the book very boring and pointless. I then found myself wanting to put the book down quite often after only reading a few pages.

The second element to a good book is a good protagonist, or main character. The main character in this book, Holden, is a kind of protagonist that many just don't like. He is your stereotypical rich snob, coming from a wealthy family who can afford to send him from one school to another. He also has a snotty, pessimistic attitude about life, other people, and himself. To all the people around him, they're all "phony" and he's better than them, but when he thinks about himself, he degrades himself also. I was able to relate holden tomany people in my school which once again showed the detail of this book. I beleive this is very hypocritical, but he admits that in the book. He also gets very depressed easily, so you don't really see a happy side to this person, or any side that would say he's motivated to do something, or anything for that matter. He just brags about his sister, drinks, treats women poorly, and spends a ton of money, all while under heavy depression. Holden is the kind of person you either feel sorry for, or just want to smack in the face. Both feelings are not feelings a reader should have about the protagonist.

The overall mood of this book is the final element that makes me want to put the book down after a few pages. Holden's attitude gets him into lots of trouble and lots of bad situations. From one encounter to another, it all ends in sadness and depression. Imagine having to read one depressing story to another, in perfect detail. The only good thing I can say about the mood is that the author writes it very well. However, when I read this book, I always had to stop myself from getting myself depressed after reading all of Holden's misadventures.

To summarize, imagine sitting in front of a rich pessimist and hearing him ramble on and on and on about everything. There would be no point, no happiness, and no end. Imagine having to hear the rambler for a grade. Can't stand it? Neither could I. Sorry Mr. Salinger, but please put your writing skill to better use. As much as I respect the quality work of this author, I couldn't stand reading this book....