What a terrible book. Can schools please stop assigning students to read this piece of trash!
Author
mb3502
2 years ago
It’s the epitome of teenage angst.
Author
hannahgrace
2 years ago
One of the worst classics. Seriously.
Author
stefkramer
2 years ago
I read The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger either in junior high or high school. I remember liking it without totally understanding it. But there was something relatable about it, I remembered. A few weeks ago, I came across a copy on my mom’s bookshelf and read it again. Of course, it was relatable! While my journey through adolescence was some time ago, I still remember the angst and the excitement. I also have a front row seat as my kids are growing up. This is why I have an entirely new appreciation for Holden Caulfield.
I didn’t go to a private prep school. I have no sense of what it’s like to grow up in the ’50’s. New York is almost a foreign country to me. But I still connected to this story –this strange, stream-of-conscience narrative about a boy who paints himself as an outsider and is disgusted with any bit of superficialness. Who doesn’t relate to the angst of growing up, discovering others’ imperfections, and trying to figure out who you really are? Not long ago, my daughter and I were having a conversation with someone who told us how difficult high school had been for their daughter lots of pressure to fit in! Later, Alex said to me, “And she was one of the mean girls.” Everyone struggles. Even the mean girls. Maybe, especially the mean girls.
Holden is a literary hero. He’s so utterly self-aware, honest, tormented, and, yet, not without hope. I love that he understands how all mothers are insane (I agree), but he truly doesn’t want his own mother to worry about him. It’s almost a lesson in parenting. Salinger reminds us that kids do care about their parents, but they’d prefer them to back off a bit. Ageless wisdom in this era of the helicopter parent.
I’m also amused by Holden’s obsession and confusion over women. He seems to be equally in love and annoyed by them. “… I didn’t even like her much, and yet all of a sudden I felt like I was in love with her and wanted to marry her.” Ahhh, the joy of young love. Or young lust. You decide.
Holden is most interesting because of his contradictions. He hates movies, but he seems to watch a lot of them. He worries desperately about an old crush, but he’s not willing to reach out to her. His conversation with a cab driver captures this see-saw nature of Holden’s sentiments:
“I let it drop… Besides, he was such a touchy guy, it wasn’t any pleasure discussing anything with him.”
Then Holden asks the driver to go out for a drink.
“He didn’t answer me, though. I guess he was still thinking. I asked him again, though. He was a pretty good guy. Quite amusing and all.”
The story takes place over a few short days, after Holden is kicked out of school, again. We don’t know what lies ahead for him. But somehow we get the feeling he’ll be okay –even if he isn’t quite okay right now. After all, he’s extremely self-aware.
“I know. I’ve very hard to talk to. I realize that.” –Holden Caulfield
Holden doesn’t seem to know what he wants to do with his life, but it’s obvious he’s clinging to the innocence and sense of wonder of childhood. This is most obvious when he relates a recurring dream to his beloved little sister. Holden stands in a field of rye and catches children as they fall off a cliff. Now that’s a metaphor.
Salinger reminds us how intensely we felt in our youth. The extreme highs and the extreme lows. He reminds us that it’s okay to be different and to be uncertain. It’s challenging stuff, but it’s what connects us all. And as a parent, it reminds me to be more tolerant when I wonder what in the heck is going through my kids’ heads. So, yes. It’s a great coming-of-age story. But it’s not a bad parenting guide as well.
Author
if
2 years ago
O Boy!…U R bound 2 like it!…it sure kills U!right from picking noses 2 cute little twitching butts,(I MUST ADMIT!) Salinger rips open all the HYPOCRISY and PERVERT mindsets by the ways of a normal TEEN..and the perspective in which society regards it and slams it!…and O Boy!( I have taken 2 it,man!) when Phoebe comes along dragging that suitcase in that red hat…didnt it overwhelm U!…and what an ending,my! as Phoebe runs across the street…Boy! didnt ur heart skip a beat!…add 2 it all, she is on the caroussel & Boy didnt U nearly catch her from falling off!…Oh! not yet, and that second ride! oh my!didnt it KILL U!… Thats all i am going 2 tel lu if I tell more…i will start liking them all, & I will have 2 READ IT ALL AGAIN!
Author
sevangelista4
2 years ago
A classic character, who you somehow cheer for despite hie continued whininess.
Author
jamesjcudney
2 years ago
3+ out of 5 stars to The Catcher in the Rye, a coming-of-age novel published in 1951 by J.D. Salinger. I am so glad I read this book as a teenager and not as an adult. I would absolutely hate it today, not because it’s poorly written or has no value, but because I’d hate Holden more than anything in the world. I was certainly not a perfect teenager, but I never had that angst as a kid, nor do I have it now. I have maybe 10 days a year where I complain a little bit about something, but for the most part, my mouth is shut and I do what I’m supposed to do. Supposed to, as in my own perception, not because someone else tells me to do it. Arguing and railing and running away and getting angry don’t come naturally to me, so I couldn’t identify with him. That said, I’ve seen this in others and it was well captured, a bit ahead of its time. For those reasons, it’s a good book. I’m a little concerned this is the type of book that will no longer be read… and teens reading it today wouldn’t understand it. I’m curious to see reviews by the under 25 crowd, just purely to see if the current generation has any different feelings towards it than I had when I read it in high school in the 90s.
Author
sankanet
2 years ago
heartbreaking in so many ways
Author
jhicks331
2 years ago
Totally overrated. Disliked it when I read it in high school. Disliked it even more when I read it 40 years later
Author
jdts
2 years ago
Enticed me to search out all his books to read.
Author
djbroussard5
2 years ago
Understanding and appreciation of Catcher enhanced by reading biography of, watching documentary on Salinger. Brilliant but highly eccentric man.
Author
kellymcq
2 years ago
Fantastic.
Author
brendaking
2 years ago
A thought-provoking book with twists and turns and the inevitable ending.
Author
jeanneglynn
2 years ago
I re-read Catcher in the Rye after reading it when I was 12 years old. It’s still relevant today, as when it was first published (not that I was alive then.) It’s hilarious, the main character Holden is as jaded as they come for a 16 year old teenager. Throughly entertaining and keeps you turning the pages… until the very end. I highly recommend this book!
Author
dj
2 years ago
Was compelling in high school, but has improved with each succeeding reading…don’t let the plot fool you; this is contemporary scripture, a deeply spiritual treatise.
Author
kevinconway
2 years ago
unique and provocative challenge to discover yourself amongst the ruins of post-modernism!
By jdsalinger
What a terrible book. Can schools please stop assigning students to read this piece of trash!
It’s the epitome of teenage angst.
One of the worst classics. Seriously.
I read The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger either in junior high or high school. I remember liking it without totally understanding it. But there was something relatable about it, I remembered. A few weeks ago, I came across a copy on my mom’s bookshelf and read it again. Of course, it was relatable! While my journey through adolescence was some time ago, I still remember the angst and the excitement. I also have a front row seat as my kids are growing up. This is why I have an entirely new appreciation for Holden Caulfield.
I didn’t go to a private prep school. I have no sense of what it’s like to grow up in the ’50’s. New York is almost a foreign country to me. But I still connected to this story –this strange, stream-of-conscience narrative about a boy who paints himself as an outsider and is disgusted with any bit of superficialness. Who doesn’t relate to the angst of growing up, discovering others’ imperfections, and trying to figure out who you really are? Not long ago, my daughter and I were having a conversation with someone who told us how difficult high school had been for their daughter lots of pressure to fit in! Later, Alex said to me, “And she was one of the mean girls.” Everyone struggles. Even the mean girls. Maybe, especially the mean girls.
Holden is a literary hero. He’s so utterly self-aware, honest, tormented, and, yet, not without hope. I love that he understands how all mothers are insane (I agree), but he truly doesn’t want his own mother to worry about him. It’s almost a lesson in parenting. Salinger reminds us that kids do care about their parents, but they’d prefer them to back off a bit. Ageless wisdom in this era of the helicopter parent.
I’m also amused by Holden’s obsession and confusion over women. He seems to be equally in love and annoyed by them. “… I didn’t even like her much, and yet all of a sudden I felt like I was in love with her and wanted to marry her.” Ahhh, the joy of young love. Or young lust. You decide.
Holden is most interesting because of his contradictions. He hates movies, but he seems to watch a lot of them. He worries desperately about an old crush, but he’s not willing to reach out to her. His conversation with a cab driver captures this see-saw nature of Holden’s sentiments:
“I let it drop… Besides, he was such a touchy guy, it wasn’t any pleasure discussing anything with him.”
Then Holden asks the driver to go out for a drink.
“He didn’t answer me, though. I guess he was still thinking. I asked him again, though. He was a pretty good guy. Quite amusing and all.”
The story takes place over a few short days, after Holden is kicked out of school, again. We don’t know what lies ahead for him. But somehow we get the feeling he’ll be okay –even if he isn’t quite okay right now. After all, he’s extremely self-aware.
“I know. I’ve very hard to talk to. I realize that.” –Holden Caulfield
Holden doesn’t seem to know what he wants to do with his life, but it’s obvious he’s clinging to the innocence and sense of wonder of childhood. This is most obvious when he relates a recurring dream to his beloved little sister. Holden stands in a field of rye and catches children as they fall off a cliff. Now that’s a metaphor.
Salinger reminds us how intensely we felt in our youth. The extreme highs and the extreme lows. He reminds us that it’s okay to be different and to be uncertain. It’s challenging stuff, but it’s what connects us all. And as a parent, it reminds me to be more tolerant when I wonder what in the heck is going through my kids’ heads. So, yes. It’s a great coming-of-age story. But it’s not a bad parenting guide as well.
O Boy!…U R bound 2 like it!…it sure kills U!right from picking noses 2 cute little twitching butts,(I MUST ADMIT!) Salinger rips open all the HYPOCRISY and PERVERT mindsets by the ways of a normal TEEN..and the perspective in which society regards it and slams it!…and O Boy!( I have taken 2 it,man!) when Phoebe comes along dragging that suitcase in that red hat…didnt it overwhelm U!…and what an ending,my! as Phoebe runs across the street…Boy! didnt ur heart skip a beat!…add 2 it all, she is on the caroussel & Boy didnt U nearly catch her from falling off!…Oh! not yet, and that second ride! oh my!didnt it KILL U!… Thats all i am going 2 tel lu if I tell more…i will start liking them all, & I will have 2 READ IT ALL AGAIN!
A classic character, who you somehow cheer for despite hie continued whininess.
3+ out of 5 stars to The Catcher in the Rye, a coming-of-age novel published in 1951 by J.D. Salinger. I am so glad I read this book as a teenager and not as an adult. I would absolutely hate it today, not because it’s poorly written or has no value, but because I’d hate Holden more than anything in the world. I was certainly not a perfect teenager, but I never had that angst as a kid, nor do I have it now. I have maybe 10 days a year where I complain a little bit about something, but for the most part, my mouth is shut and I do what I’m supposed to do. Supposed to, as in my own perception, not because someone else tells me to do it. Arguing and railing and running away and getting angry don’t come naturally to me, so I couldn’t identify with him. That said, I’ve seen this in others and it was well captured, a bit ahead of its time. For those reasons, it’s a good book. I’m a little concerned this is the type of book that will no longer be read… and teens reading it today wouldn’t understand it. I’m curious to see reviews by the under 25 crowd, just purely to see if the current generation has any different feelings towards it than I had when I read it in high school in the 90s.
heartbreaking in so many ways
Totally overrated. Disliked it when I read it in high school. Disliked it even more when I read it 40 years later
Enticed me to search out all his books to read.
Understanding and appreciation of Catcher enhanced by reading biography of, watching documentary on Salinger. Brilliant but highly eccentric man.
Fantastic.
A thought-provoking book with twists and turns and the inevitable ending.
I re-read Catcher in the Rye after reading it when I was 12 years old. It’s still relevant today, as when it was first published (not that I was alive then.) It’s hilarious, the main character Holden is as jaded as they come for a 16 year old teenager. Throughly entertaining and keeps you turning the pages… until the very end. I highly recommend this book!
Was compelling in high school, but has improved with each succeeding reading…don’t let the plot fool you; this is contemporary scripture, a deeply spiritual treatise.
unique and provocative challenge to discover yourself amongst the ruins of post-modernism!