The Catcher In the Rye

[Tom's Chick]

Once again it's summer reading time :rolleyes: has anyone read the book "The Catcher In the Rye"? It's one of the books I have to read and I was wondering if it's an interesting book or not?

[rae19780625]

I read it about 10 years ago (give or take)... I meant to read it again. I had heard about it through various shows and movies and was interested on why so many had called it "life changing". I remember that I did enjoy reading it back then. :)

[Tom's Chick]

wow...."life changing"? It must have a strong storyline then....I hope so. Well thats one good review :)

[IamDeath]

it's just about the typical teenage guy.
He's nervous and insecure. He hires a prostitute to lose his virginity, but then ends up just talking to her. He's a bit emo, and he gets kicked out of school in the beginning. He goes off on tangents A LOT. Some people love it, some people hate it. I belong in the latter group. It's an accurate depiction of teenage guys by and large tho, IMO

[dexterfan]

i read this book last summer for school and loved it! everyone else in my class hated it but i enjoyed it and recently bought it, so iwill soon be enjoying it again.

[smallvillerocks45]

I read this book in high school. I wouldn't say it was awful, but I can't say it was great either. The thing about reading stories for school is that sometimes you focus so much on the fact that it was assigned (and you need to finish the book before the big analysis is due), you forget to enjoy the book. Well, at least that's what sometimes happens to me. That being said, I'd definitely read it again. Perhaps a second reading (without time limits) would change my perspective.

[Raith]

This book, I've read it back when I was in High School, Holden Caufield(main character) is an average kid with a problem with everyone. He is a bit of a 'pussy' per se, he does not stand up for himself but in his own heart/mind, he hates the world. The people he loves, he wants to glasscase, hint hint.

[smallvilleobsessor17]

My english class is reading this book as soon as we're wrapped up with 1984, which definitely wasn't a good book either. :rolleyes:

[Atomic girl]

I had to read this book in high school and it was awful. I wouldn't let my kid waste his time on it now, there have to be better books to "learn" from.

[smallvilleobsessor17]

The Catcher in the Rye was absolutely horrible...I wish I never read it. :lol:

[Vergon6]

I felt "The Catcher in the Rye" is the most highly overrated book. People always sight this book as their favorite and I can never understand why.

You know, 1984 is actually my favorite book, so there :P And George Orwell is my favorite author, and yes I have read most of his books and essays, so I am not just basing that on 1984 or Animal Farm. Keep the Aspidistra Flying was pretty depressing and I didn't like it very much though. And I couldn't get into his essays on Charles Dickens. So I am under no delusion that Orwell can do no wrong.

But Catcher in the Rye was not the worst book ever. That would got to a book by a Canadian author named The Pigman. Just trust me on this one.

[ginnyfan]

Just read it for yourself... that's what I'd recommend. Don't go any with any strong expectations. The most... unique thing about the book is how STRONGLY from one POV it is. Within his disagreeable, teen POV you can see the contradictions. What low self esteem he has, how he complains that everyone is FAKE while he's the most fake person in the book... and that... wanting to be a Catcher in the Rye is selfless and generous so... ??? WTF! Think and rethink and rethink again and don't take everything he "THINKS" at face value.

The contradictions and strong POV make the book. Hope I haven't ruined it for you.

[axisoftime]

I liked it.While i agree the contradictions and strong POV make the book-I didnt find Holden to be fake.He was searching..for innocence...meaning...and not finding it.
Well, hardly anyway.What more meaning in life then to be a 'catcher in the rye'?

[ginnyfan]

^I agree but I was trying not to give to much away. :D

If you watch his behavior vs. his thoughts he seems very fake but... yes the "catcher in the rye" is so beautiful and that aspiration tells on him.

I love the book. I can see why others don't.

[SuperShazam!!]

I love this book, I dont understand why people hate it. One of my friends doesnt like it because of the ending, but meh to them.

Read it and enjoy it!

[thmallville]

This book is sooo pathetic :rotfl: Once upon a time, this emo kid named Holden gets kicked out of school, and traipses around New York (I think it's NY) for a few days before he has to tell his parents. He thinks a lot about stuff no one cares about. He has a fugly red hat. The end.

[SuperShazam!!]

This book is sooo pathetic :rotfl: Once upon a time, this emo kid named Holden gets kicked out of school, and traipses around New York (I think it's NY) for a few days before he has to tell his parents. He thinks a lot about stuff no one cares about. He has a fugly red hat. The end.

Care to explain why it's 'sooo pathetic'. I mean, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but to call the book pathetic and find yourself funny by doing so, makes you seem like a little kid.

Your not even sure of the setting of New York, did you even read the book all the way through?

Like I said everyone has their own opinion, and some people love the book, some dont.

[thmallville]

:lol: What crawled up your butt and died?? I find the book pathetic because it was horrendously boring, pointless, and poorly written. Obviously, I was forced to read the book (all the way through as well!!) for my equally pathetic "English" class... it is nothing I would ever read on my own precious time.

[SuperShazam!!]

:lol: What crawled up your butt and died?? I find the book pathetic because it was horrendously boring, pointless, and poorly written. Obviously, I was forced to read the book (all the way through as well!!) for my equally pathetic "English" class... it is nothing I would ever read on my own precious time.

Your mum did.:rolleyes:

Fair enough if you found it boring, I just wanted to know why you thought it was pathetic that all.:\

[ginnyfan]

I completely understand why people didn't like it. As a straight forward read it's rather unpleasant. The protagonist can come off whiny and superficial and mean. But it's sort of like a magic eye... when you catch the clues and look at the book through them... as through a pair of clue tinted glasses... suddenly you see this whole other beautiful picture. It's a masterful thing. I think a lot of us as teens are these raw versions of ourselves. If we're lucky if we have someone in our lives that sees the magic in us, despite the roughness. :)

[axisoftime]

Heres an interesting review;

'There are three true things that can be said about J. D. Salinger's masterpiece:

It is one of the great works of 20th century literature.

It is one of the most frequently challenged by would-be book banners, and therefor

It is one of the most misunderstood books of the 20th century.

It has been challenged and banned for all of the reasons mentioned above in the content advisories, though by today's standards it might not even merit a PG-13 if it were a movie (and, oddly for a book this popular, it has never been filmed). But those who challenge it fail to see the forest for the little swearword trees. They have called Holden a cynical teenager, when in fact he is such a compassionate innocent abroad that he can hardly cope with the cynical world at all: so innocent and so alone that he tries to get a prostitute to just chat and keep him company (alas, no heart of gold here). Desperately lonely, adrift in what seems to him an uncaring world, he has been through some terrible experiences, and no one at all seems to have noticed that he is crumbling.
Yet there's a reason this book has stayed in print, is stocked in nearly every bookstore, and has been assigned in nearly every high school for the past 50 plus years: the emotional power and poignancy is still as strong as ever, and Holden's inner self is just as recognizable to teens today as it has ever been.

Salinger captured the adolescent voice and way of thinking more perfectly, and more poignantly, than just about anyone before or since. Holden Caulfield holds a place in the American psyche akin to Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer: an exquisitely rendered character with whom nearly anyone can identify'

[ginnyfan]

Oh beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

[slayer]

i took an adolescents in america course last year and Catcher just happened to be one of our readings. i was never asked to read this in high school but i was aware of it's "cultural significance". after reading the book, i realized that i would never be a fan. i think it has differently impacted people according to these two standards: gender and age. if you are an adolescent male - you'll probably like this book more than anyone else would. reading it for the first time as a college student, i was out of touch with the book. i could no longer relate to being that frustrated adolescent.
some peers in my class had read Catcher previously in high school and also happened to feel that it no longer carried the same impact as it did when you read it as an adolescent. the "frak you" attitude of the protagonist would pretty much get any teen to love him - they would think he was a bad ass rebel; nowadays we would just think he's a typical adolescent male with a piss poor attitude.

[amalie]

I realise this topic is old but 'The Catcher in the Rye' is one of those books that produced such a strong reaction from me that I can't overlook a thread on it.

In short, I hated it. It's one of few books that I had to push myself to finish, not because I was bored but because I absolutely hated it with a passion. The protagonist is infuriating, infantile and not remotely relatable (at least not for me). I've often been told that you have to read it when you're young as a counter argument to my distaste, apparently that'll make me empathise with Holden. What folly! I read it when I was in my early to mid teens and even then I thought the character was an idiot and a hypocrite. The writing is repetitive and uninspiring. I consider the entire thing over hyped because of it's censorship upon initial release.

[slayer]

In short, I hated it. It's one of few books that I had to push myself to finish, not because I was bored but because I absolutely hated it with a passion. The protagonist is infuriating, infantile and not remotely relatable (at least not for me). I've often been told that you have to read it when you're young as a counter argument to my distaste, apparently that'll make me empathize with Holden. What folly! I read it when I was in my early to mid teens and even then I thought the character was an idiot and a hypocrite. The writing is repetitive and uninspiring. I consider the entire thing over hyped because of it's censorship upon initial release.

i concur. i had to push myself to finish the book and it just left a bad after taste in my mouth. i don't think that it was over-hyped because of it's censorship, but rather the content of the book present adolescents with a figure like Holden - a deviant child. i appreciate the content in the context of the time frame it was written in, but that's all. i understand, but that doesn't make me like it anymore.

random:
i just remember my professor telling the class that in his day, if you wanted to be cool, you had to walk around with a banged up copy of Catcher in your back pocket. :lol:

[amalie]

i concur. i had to push myself to finish the book and it just left a bad after taste in my mouth. i don't think that it was over-hyped because of it's censorship, but rather the content of the book present adolescents with a figure like Holden - a deviant child. i appreciate the content in the context of the time frame it was written in, but that's all. i understand, but that doesn't make me like it anymore.

random:
i just remember my professor telling the class that in his day, if you wanted to be cool, you had to walk around with a banged up copy of Catcher in your back pocket. :lol:


I can't really argue with that, there's no denying that perceptions were different back when it was released. Although I do think that it's many defects as a book are often overlooked because of it's history and infamy.

[slayer]

I can't really argue with that, there's no denying that perceptions were different back when it was released. Although I do think that it's many defects as a book are often overlooked because of it's history and infamy.

true. the flaws of the novel may be overlooked, but i don't think they are overlooked as often as it may seem. that is just a generalization. i think many people who have read the book could list its critiques; i don't find many people who actually love Catcher. at one point in time it has been received with greater significance then it holds for us now.
basically, yes i believe that in a cultural context the book brings forth lots of meaning, but i do not feel that it is because of "it's history and infamy".

[<Adam Knight>]

I enjoyed the book. We read it in high school so it was definitely one of the better books i have read during high school. I plan on reading it again on my own time