The Catcher in the Rye

Read this as a senior in high school. Few books have made an impact like this one. I have taught this book hoping that it made the impact on my students as it has on me. Holden Caufield was me. I am certain of this. His rebellious spirit still lives in me and his dedication in protecting his sister Phoebe by becoming the catcher in the rye, misunderstanding the meaning of this Robert Burns poem. Remarkable read. It is a boy’s book, but I would not dissuade the girls from reading this masterpiece.

Great book!

I had to read this is high school and found it to be outdated. Also, I hated the characters, rich white kids with problems. This books was not for me. I didn’t care what happened to anyone in the book. I know many people love it, but it just didn’t resonate with me at all. It was a total waste of my time. I got a C on the paper I had to write on it because (horrors), I didn’t hold back on all the reasons I thought it was an overrated book.

Reading through some of the one-star reviews of this book I was interested to note that a lot of people, twelve percent in fact, left comments like: ‘ramblings of a teenage drunk’, ‘pile of rubbish’, and my personal favourite: ‘ a blasphemy to the beauty of the English language’. It was variously described as dull, tedious, repetitive and lacking any kind of plot. But the most frequent complaint was that it was disappointing.

When a book is described as a classic it’s difficult not to expect something great. Something that will perhaps change your perspective on the world. If you read it, looking for this something and fail to find it, then yes, it will disappoint.

It’s happened to me and it’s happened to you (I’m assuming). We’ve all been disappointed by classic reads at some time or other.

The Catcher in the Rye is just one of those books. You love it or hate it. You find treasure or you don’t. You get it, or you don’t get it.

This one, I got.

Now I have to say what it is I ‘got’. To the best of my ability. Which, I can tell you, is a daunting prospect. It really is.

If you’ve read J D’s classic, you’ll notice the style of the last paragraph – a poor mimic, I’ll admit. But the style of writing is what first strikes the reader. Here we have a seventeen-year-old boy telling us about his situation – he’s at a prestigious boarding school, about to be kicked out after ‘flunking’ his exams. And he’s talking directly to us, first person, up close and intimate.

I could go on to describe the plot but if you want an excellent summary you can visit Wikipedia. I’d recommend it, especially after you’ve read the book, for all the snippets of peripheral information about the author.

What I want to say, to try to say, is why this book is one of my all-time best reads.

It’s true that Holden Cauldfield (I love the strangeness of his name) is lazy, reactive, immature…but he is also hanging on to what he sees as ‘real’, what is not ‘phony’. His thoughts and interactions with other people are often superficial, his conversations repetitive, but mixed in amongst the simmering chaos of his life there are moments of astounding beauty. It’s like walking through a field of mud and finding something precious. I don’t mean something like a diamond or a wallet. Rather, consider coming across a baby bird, injured and near death. Holden would pick it up, carry it away, make it well, if he could.

Now, I’ve made the book sound soppy, but it’s not. True, it’s nostalgic. It takes you back. Makes you remember feelings you had as a child growing up. Holden Cauldfield reminds you that in a world of fixed pathways through education, to a career and happiness, there are stop-offs along the way that can blow any plan out of the water. For him, it’s where the ducks go when the pond freezes over, the essay he wrote about his dead brother’s baseball glove, the record he bought for his sister Phoebe, or the trips to the Museum of Natural History when he was younger. These moments stand out amongst the mud and slog like a beating heart.

As he gravitates towards home and his sister, Phoebe, he follows a young boy walking carelessly in the gutter along a busy street. He feels the boy’s parents are unaware of the danger he is in. Then, the boy begins to sing:
“If a body catch a body coming through the rye,” which strikes Holden with it’s simple joy. It also leads him to formulate a plan – a plan based on his understanding of this line, which is a misquote from the Burn’s poem. Holden sees himself standing at the edge of a field of rye where children are playing near a cliff edge. As they run and play, unaware of the danger, Holden will stand guard and catch them when they fall.

Whether or not you get the punch to the stomach and the shock to the brain of these moments of insight, is probably down to how you are wired. I don’t want to sound smug or superior. I just can’t help being amazed by this book and grateful to J D for writing it.

A classic must read!!

I don’t get why this book is considered so great. I found it boring. It was a condemnation of parental indifference but nothing special.

My 16 year old self loved it. I’m not sure if I would like it as much if I re-read it today.

I gave this book one star because I could not relate to it and I don’t see the attraction. It is certainly tame by today’s standards and there are better coming of age novels. There is no reason for a young person to read it, nor is there any reason they shouldn’t.

Didn’t think much of this book either way in high school. Then a re-read in my late 20s blew me away. After some ups and downs in my own life, the irony, sarcasm, and humor hit me hard the second time around.

This book was difficult to read, but was a great insight to teenagers. It made me consider what my students may be going through and helped me see them in a new light. A good read for someone with moody teens!