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The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye

List Price: $6.99
Your Price: $5.99
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A High School Novel About a High School Kid.
Review: This book shows the life of a teenager who decides to go on his own. Holden Caulfield ( the main character) gets tired of school and his surroundings and leaves. Salinger is a brilliant writer by the way he brings teenage life to reality so readers can understand what its like. He writes about how his life is impacted by what goes around him in his journey through New York. While in New York he searches his life to find some kind of truth in it. He goes through a depression and almost loses it but the dramatic events that happen change his view of life.

In the beginning of this book he writes about how Holden struggles through different prep schools. Each school he tries to help out some of his loser friends but not one changes so instead of confirming to their ways he leaves and heads out on his own.

This book is a must read for all teenagers, or whoever is considering buying it and reading it or giving it to someone, I strongly believe you should. Take the risk.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Alternately amusing and boring, but a VERY fast read.
Review: I like Holden Caulfield, I really do, and "Catcher in the Rye" is a pretty amusing book. I mean it, it really is. But it isn't the literary Olympus many claim it to be. Holden Caulfield is immature, crude, lying and hypocritical, yet he's also caring, sincere, open, and likable. All of that blends to make him also charming The story reads similarly to Virginia Woolf's experimental fiction, "To the Lighthouse", though more focused, not as severe in its wandering, and less of a bore because Salinger is a better writer than Woolf. Did I say "less" of a bore" than "To the Lighthouse"? Yeah. Holden really is completely likable; the kind of kid you'd want to hug every time you saw him, but he rambles and much of that rambling is unrelated to anything of importance, much as is the case in "To the Lighthouse". "Catcher in the Rye" is a fast, easy read, but there are still times when I just felt like putting it down for good, because it too often becomes little more than a featureless droning, much like "To the Lighthouse". Salinger had a spectacular ability to build a character with just a few lines of dialogue. There is a host of personalities within the covers of "Catcher in the Rye" and though we rarely get more than a glimpse of each we come away feeling that we know far more about them than is included in the written word. Holden is both remarkably perceptive and remarkably naive. This keeps the narrative interesting where it would otherwise bog down again. Emotional content is most often flat, because Holden has a too frequent habit of flat out telling us how depressing this and that and him and her and . . . and . . . and, is. It's one thing after another, told without any feeling, and by three quarters of the way through the reader starts thinking, "so what". There ARE parts that will make you stop and think, "wow" in a subdued, even melancholy way, but don't expect to have to set the book aside while you wait for the tears to dry up. It isn't going to happen. It's difficult in the extreme to find a discussion You'll find a good-sized handful of things that WILL make you stop and say, "Hmmmmm.", but if you're expecting to have your beliefs regarding self, life, societal woes, or the fundamental goodness/evil of mankind challenged then you're reading the wrong book. That isn't going to happen, either. Is "Catcher in the Rye" a great book? A work of unparalleled literary genius? Heck no. As with Woolf's "To the Lighthouse" it's missing far too much to even be considered a story. But it's pretty good, and I'm glad that I took the time to read it.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: 20th Century Classic
Review: I have read this book several times throughout the years and also have given many copies to friends. Salinger did not want reviews on his book. So no more comments. Just read it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Hold on to Holden!
Review: While this book needs no further accolades, it was a report in today's Washington Post that prompted me to add one more to the great list of positive reviews. The report mentioned that "the Catcher" gets removed from more and more required reading lists for high school students, because it no longer fits the curriculum's multicultural agenda. This, in despite of the fact that it is one of the few books that teachers have little difficulty with to get students to read. In addition, it was praised by students of a variety of cultural backgrounds, to whom the story about this white prep school kid was very appealing. I greatly sympathize with the idea of integration, but can't understand why one of the few books that so many have described as meaningful, and has been so instrumental in teaching appreciation for literature, needs to get such a bad rap. So "the Catcher" gets replaced. In many cases with books that are at best described as "a little far fetched". One of the books that was mentioned among the replacement was Marquez' "100 years of loneliness" , chosen because it represents the Hispanic heritage. This is certainly a master piece, I am even willing to concede that I prefer it over "the Catcher", but a vehicle to awaken interest in literature in the "post-x" generation? I don't think so. Although familiar with the book for quite a while it was not until hitting 30 that I read "the Catcher" in one sitting. It is a great read at any age. And while I still can not understand that people regard reading books like "the Fountainhead", or "Atlas shrugged" as life altering experiences, I am gladly willing to make an exception for Salinger's masterpiece. Hold on to Holden!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Review
Review: "The Catcher in the Rye" is a journey through the mind of a teenage boy written by J.D. Salinger, one of the most interesting American writers of today. Salinger has shocked readers by exposing the naked emotions of a young man. Salinger's story brings us to the city of New York where the main character, Holden Caulfield, searches him to find truth in life. Salinger attempts to expose the "phonies" of the world and touch confused adolescents. This novel should be regarded as a handbook for all young people who feel they are all alone in their confusion in the world. Readers will either love "Catcher in the Rye" or hate it completely. The young man, Holden, attends prep school to prep school in search of something. He is forever getting kicked out for poor grades that he is all too smart for but, Holden seems to be side tracked with the "phonies" all around him. Holden even tries to help the "phonies," tries to save them from their fake world. When he gets kicked out of his most recent school he begins to miss the familiar "phonies" in the big city of New York. In New York, Holden discovers himself through the people he meets during his short visit. The author wants his readers to sense Holden's fear and anger. In one of the few interviews he has granted he said "His own childhood was much like that of the boy, Holden Caulfield, in this novel." Holden's adventure in New York in a symbol of independence. The boy chooses to face the real world, instead of trying to escape it. At one point, Holden says to his sister, " I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all...and I'm standing by on the edge of some crazing cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff." This passage reveals what the title means. The main character is insightful, full of raw emotions, and truth. Teachers across the country have called this novel filth and unfit for school literature. Jack Gordon, Miami school board member, said of the novel " anyone that calls it 'obscene' has misread it. The book takes you from bars to prostitutes to Holden's dear little sister. Although there is alcohol and other illegal things, the message is not vulgar. It teaches us to fight against the stream of conformity. Holden dreams of escaping the city as he says to himself, " a little cabin somewhere...and live there for the rest of my life...near the woods, but not right in them because I'd want it as sunny as hell all the time."

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: No I Didn't Read This Book In High School
Review: It must be a very North American thing to have to read this book for school. In Australia it isn't part of the syllabus. Maybe it should be. I work in abookstore and I read 'Catcher In The Rye' because of all the hype and fuss surrounding it.

Now, having read the novel, I agree that it is very good. I don't believe it is life changing or a masterpiece, but simply a challenging novel that has legions of fans (a cult following, perhaps?) because it tells it like it is. Teens on the rampage! Holden Caulfield is truly an example to us all. Do it all do it now do it your way!

Read and Enjoy!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The catcher in the rye
Review: I first read this book at school,but the teacher kept missing parts out which contained sex etc... but then i saw it in a bookshop and remembered how much I liked what i had read of it. So i read it and it was the best book i ever read,i have no negative remarks about it whatsoever.Holden Caulfield on the outside seems a negative guy,but on the inside you can tell that when he says 'I dont want to do anything when i grow up etc' he is just saying that because he is obviously trying to act tough all the time.I really enjoyed this and anyone can read it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Re-read this book
Review: I decided to re-read this book. This may be the first book in 15 years that I decided to re-read - but I thought it was worth it (and it only takes a few hours to read). The Catcher in the Rye is a fantastic and inspiring book. I recently ran into a few people who never read the book. My question: why? Get the book right now and read.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best book for teenage self-discovery!
Review: This is my favorite book ever! The main character, Holden Caulfield, is a 16-year-old-boy who is not sure who he is, until he goes on a 48-hour journey for self-discovery. Holden has many things in common with teenagers, which is why I recommend this book. This is a book written in the language of teenagers which makes it interesting to read. Filled with symbolisms, "The Catcher in the Rye" is a book which can help teenagers find their true self and the truth about life.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Majin's book review
Review: I just finished reading the critically acclaimed book by J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye. I found the book easy to read and enjoyable. I think that people who fall into the age group of 17-25 can enjoy the book a lot more than most people, because I feel that they can relate to Holden. The book is a story about a couple of days in the life of Holden Caulfield, a boy who sees the world through different eyes. Holden is almost always depressed and we get to follow him from Penncey Prep School to New York City and we meet "phonies" all the way. Over all The Catcher in the Rye is a very enjoyable book and it is just as good as what I've heard about it.


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