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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #367753 in Books
• Published on: 2001-01-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 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

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Customer Reviews

"Certain things they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases..."
This is a book that will disappoint you if you read it for its fame and controversy. You will be disappointed because you will find that there is only a loose plot (in fact the whole story takes place in about two days), and very little actually happens within it. Catcher in the Rye is not so much a story as a character portrayal - a snapshot in the life of Holden Caulfield as he gets expelled from school.

However, if you appreciate the book for what it is, then you'll find it is very likable. Contrary to some of the other reviewers I do not think that it is depressing or full of rage, or even cynical. It just describes a frame of mind that we've all had a couple of days in our lives. Holden is critical but no better than the people he criticises; angry but unwilling to do harm; seemingly hateful but appreciative of the people he dislikes.

Mostly he is just a child coming to terms with being an adolescent - and it is hard not to sympathise with him and his story.

Truly Brilliant
I read this book for my A-Level coursework this year, before I read it, I had it down as some boring piece of literature from the same peroid as Jane Austen. It is in fact much more modern than that, and much more interesting than I had anticipated. Because of my initial reactions to the book, I didn't start reading it expecting to enjoy it, but soon found that I couldn't put it down, spending practically two evenings solid reading the entire book.
The story revolves around Holden Caulfield, a 16 year old boy who rebels against anything he can for no particular reason, and a brief period in his life before christmas, after he runs away from the school he's getting kicked out of, when he spends a weekend alone in New York, drinking, getting into fights, trying to get a prostitute and sleeping out on the streets when he has to. The book is presented as a straight forward first person narrative of what happened from Holden, and his views on how just about everything and everyone is 'Phony.' I would say it's best described as literature's equivalent to reallity TV, but infinitely more intersting, as whilst there doesn't really appear to be any great underlying plot to it, you will be able to relate to the characters experiences, also the writing may seem unplanned and random, but that adds to the book in a way, as you can feel like Holden really is describing what happened to him, as if he is actually sat telling you the story.
In summary, a strangely compelling read, brilliantly narrated and probably my favourite book of all time. Buy it and read it now.

Five Stars Because I can
For anyone interested in the 1950s New York that no longer exists, along with the youth of that era, the angst, the coming-of-age story, and the totaly uniqueness of a novel that has captivated an audience for decades, might I recommend this small but powerful and still somewhat new novel. New in the respect that it touches on the fragility of youth, the uncertainity of the world, and how lost a young man can feel, especially in a large city such as New York. This is not a complicated book, but underlying the "facility" is a deeper meaning to life; a searching for something, and ultimately this is what Salinger put into print and the reason it has stood the test of time. Few now are not familiar with Holden Caulfield and his journey through the land of teenage angst, but most will want to re-read this book at a later point in life. It is easy to label Holden now--manic depressive, bi-polar, depressed, or just messed-up teenager, but who at that age does not already have baggage? What I think most will find interesting is that, when reading this book as a teenager, you will obviously see things through Holden's eyes. Reading the book as an adult you will seen both sides of the story and this makes for an even more powerful read. Read it on any level you want, but just read it. Along with "Catch 22," "Me Talk Pretty One Day," and "Barring Some Unforeseen Accident," this is a keeper that you'll want to revisit over and over. A knock-out American classic for all ages.