Product Description

"The Catcher in Rye" is the ultimate novel for disaffected youth, but it's relevant to all ages. The story is told by Holden Caulfield, a seventeen-year-old dropout who has just been kicked out of his fourth school. Throughout, Holden dissects the 'phony' aspects of society, and the 'phonies' themselves: the headmaster whose affability depends on the wealth of the parents, his roommate who scores with girls using sickly-sweet affection.Lazy in style, full of slang and swear words, it's a novel whose interest and appeal comes from its observations rather than its plot intrigues (in conventional terms, there is hardly any plot at all). Salinger's style creates an effect of conversation, it is as though Holden is speaking to you personally, as though you too have seen through the pretences of the American Dream and are growing up unable to see the point of living in, or contributing to, the society around you. Written with the clarity of a boy leaving childhood, it deals with society, love, loss, and expectations without ever falling into the clutch of a cliche.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #207 in Books
• Published on: 1994-08-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

From Amazon.co.uk
Since his debut in 1951 as The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield has been synonymous with "cynical adolescent". Holden narrates the story of a couple of days in his 16-year-old life, just after he's been expelled from prep school, in a slang that sounds edgy even today and keeps this novel on banned book lists. It begins:

If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two haemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them.

His constant wry observations about what he encounters, from teachers to phonies (the two of course are not mutually exclusive), capture the essence of the eternal teenage experience of alienation. --Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk Review
Since his debut in 1951 as The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield has been synonymous with "cynical adolescent". Holden narrates the story of a couple of days in his 16-year-old life, just after he's been expelled from prep school, in a slang that sounds edgy even today and keeps this novel on banned book lists. It begins:

If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two haemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them.

His constant wry observations about what he encounters, from teachers to phonies (the two of course are not mutually exclusive), capture the essence of the eternal teenage experience of alienation. --Amazon.com

Review
Like many teenagers, 16-year-old Holden Caulfield doesn't really know what he wants to do, although he is sure that he wants to avoid anything phony. First published in 1958, no novel betters Salinger's description of Holden's tortured adolescence as he comes to terms with the transition to adulthood and the onset of a nervous breakdown. It's the integrity of Holden's quest for meaning in his life that has made this book so enduringly popular with all ages. Its humour and deceptively light touch help too. This is the teenage novel. (Kirkus UK)

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Customer Reviews

I honestly didn't understand the praise....
So I read it again. As such it's the only book I didn't enjoy first time round (as a sixteen year old) which I have ever reread. Rereading as a thirty year old did not change my opinion.

The book has nothing of interest to say. The inane ramblings and tirades of a cynical and bitter little rich kid do not a good novel make. Holden doesn't appear to learn anything over the course of his journey and all I learnt over the course of 200 nauseating pages was that not all "classics" of literature warrant their place.

Loved it.
I simply adore this book, I purchased it with To Kill a Mockingbird, as I thought it's always on lists of those books to read before you die, so why not I thought to myself. And of course, I'm not male and just out of my teen years, but I did relate. I disagree with the critical commets that some customers have said like the main character Holden 'should get over himself', I think most teenagers at Holdens age are slightly self obsessed and have the me againat the world attitude, even if they would care not to admit it, I definitely did have that attitude. And for a book that was written in the 1940's it certainly has aged well, it feels quite modern actually. The book doesn't really have a plot and it doesn't need it either, written in the first person narrative, Holden tells us the events set over only a few days, which occured a year ago. This is definielt a book worth re-reading, and this is from a person who really doesn't return to a book once it has been read.

One of the best books I have ever read
I'm so sorry to see all the people on here who were disappointed by The Catcher In The Rye. When I first read it aged 13 I was unaware of its cult status and so just had average expectations. Indeed at the time I only really liked the character of Holden, less so the book itself. Having re-read it twice since however (I am now 18) I can honestly say it's one of the best books I have ever read.

While I originally sided with the main character, now I'm able to see all his flaws and inconsistencies and love him all the more. As far as I'm concerned this is not so much a book for teenagers as one for anyone who's suffered from depression and disillusionment with the world around them. Anyway I won't take up any more of your time - I only hope you will make the effort to get this book and see past its sometimes negative image. And for those who didn't like it first time, I highly recommend a second reading. The only character I can think of who reveals more depth than Holden is Hamlet himself.