Rating: 
Summary: Everyone else reviewed it, why not me....
Review: There's enough reviews out there so you can get the details of the book, I'm just going to give my opinion of it. The books well written, well characterized and worthy of it's praise. Salinger has teenage angst and apathy nailed, though these days Holden would prob. be younger, maybe 12-14. I liked it and I didn't, the writing great, but I'm not moved by the character. He keeps bemoaning his life and saying how phony people are. Typical youth of showing how cool and knowledgable of the world they are. It gets irritating after awhile. I'm on the fence with this one, the main character is annoying, but he's annoying because he's so greatly written.
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Read!
Review: I read Catcher in the Rye while in college. I'd heard many allusions to the book, and many people said they liked it, yet I didn't really know what it was about. It is fascinating, a true inspiration. Holden is so complex that you can't stop thinking about him when you're not reading. Salinger's amazing insights into human nature and his clever style of cynicism is unique to much of literature and better than all contemporary literature. As Holden starts to spiral down, you can't help but feel incredibly sad thinking about his situation. A boy, on the brink of breakdown, speaking of things that make so much sense. It makes you wonder if he's the one going crazy or if it's the way society is that is truly crazy. I will always love this book and I plan on going over it again to underline all the lines that I adored. For the people giving bad reviews, and as I've analyzed their comments, I must say that you missed the boat. I'm sure that you are the people that Holden is making his social critiques on. No symbolism, a boring character that is whining? Come again? Salinger's phrasing of his words is simplistic, but his message is not. Read it again, try and be more perceptive, and think harder about what is really being said. There is enlightenment waiting for you.
Rating:
Summary: Uncertainty
Review: I am not sure what I think of this book yet. I read it, like other reviewers, because it is a classic. I can identify with Holden Caulfield on some levels because of the isolation I feel at school. However, I have trouble feeling sorry for him because he does have several people around him who care for him, and his family is very wealthy. I know what he means by people being phony. I can also appreciate his desire to be a "catcher in the rye." I can definitely see why it is banned in schools. I think the book would have been just as effective, if not more so, if he had not taken God's name in vain every other word. Overall, his musings on love and society are very insightful and trite at the same time. I know this sounds impossible, but he puts a spin on common ideas. I think people should read this book for entertainment, but they should avoid it if they are looking for a bible for living.
Rating:
Summary: The first book I ever loved!
Review: I had to read this book when I was a freshman in h.s....I was like 14 and the last thing I wanted to do was read.....but almost 8 years later I still totally love this book....I read it in less than 2 days so it's an easy read....I recommend it to everyone!
Rating: 
Summary: This book sucks.
Review: I'll admit to being a sci-fi buff, but that doesn't mean I don't love books of other genre's. I decided to read Catcher in the Rye because it was a "classic". Also, this book is found in just about every maniacs glove compartment after they blow up a building or something. So i decided to give it a shot and see what the hell was so special about it. Well, the answer is nothing... This book just rambles on in its "1940's rebel style. To be frank it had virtually no redeeming qualities other than the jargon he used (swell, terrific, sexy, flitty, and grippy). I kept expecting him to break out of his pathetic existence and kill a bunch of people or find value in his life. He did neither. Instead I spent a few days reading into the mind of your typical pathetic teenage brat. Don't bother reading.
Rating:
Summary: Did any of the reviewers even READ this book?
Review: I have just read several reviews posted regarding "The Catcher in the Rye." I am amazed that none have even the slightest comprehension of the plight of the main character, Holden Caufield, or the timeless truth and lessons in this book. In 2001, can we, as a culture, only appreciate the "challenge" of coming of age if it's on a screen, has full female frontal, and moves along as quickly as its Number 1 soundtrack? Is it possible that so many Americans, supposedly appreciative of literature, are so uncultured and inept? (or never discussed this book's meaning in a high school English class?) I will always go back to this story of Holden, in rememberance of the sadness and fondness of youth.
Rating: 
Summary: Re-reading the Classics?
Review: Okay, I'm an avid reader, an adult, a mother, and have a college education, but I never read this book. In an effort to improve myself, I often pick up a classic and dive in. It was a little difficult to "dive in" to this one, however. I can understand the literary value of this stream of consciousness-style writing, but I didn't like Holden, the main character. I found myself wondering if I didn't like him because of his actions and thoughts, or if I struggled with him because his thoughts were so random and realistic. Haven't we all had a few drinks and thought the rest of the world was a bunch of phonies? I guess I'm a better person for having read another classic, but if you're looking for a life-changing classic, read To Kill a Mockingbird.
Rating:
Summary: Thought
Review: The Catcher in the Rye is an excellent fast reading book based mainly on thought. I have had a time relating to much of what the character had been feeling. Perhaps a large reason i enjoyed the book is that i see a lot of myself in Holden. I recomend this book to anyone that has a mind.
Rating:
Summary: The Catcher In The Rye is THE book to have in your bookshelf
Review: I have read this book time and time again, I am still taken away by it. The book is a new lease of life, it shows that there is always someone worse off then yourself. I am only 15 and i dont really like books that much but this is an exeption, it is brilliant. Holden Caulfield is a late teen who is in a boarding school (Pency). Holden failed every class exept english and he was kicked out of his school. Afraid to tell his mother and father, Holden leaves Pency and makes his way back home to NYC, where he can break the news to his mother and father before anyone else. Along the way he meets a collection of people. Nuns, Prostitutes, Old friends and family. If there is one book that all book shelfs must have then it is this masterpiece. You will not regret buying it.
Rating:
Summary: A good reminder
Review: This is a book about Holden Caulfield, a young man with lots of potential but a poor perspective, little focus, and no plan. The reader's frustration grows throughout the book as Holden makes goals, but devises no plan to reach the goals and therefore is repeatedly unsuccessful. He never corrects this pattern. At the close of the book, I was struck by how each of us is so like Holden Caulfield. How many times do we make goals only to fail because we didn't set a step-by-step plan for achieving those goals? This book reminds me of this and illustrates how much greater a loss is felt when one has much potential and accomplishes nothing. The only negative I would give this book is its unrealistically excessive coarse language.
|
