Catcher in the Rye

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Summary: What the Hype is all about - -to those who hated Catcher
Review: What the Hype is all about - -....It is necessary for the story to take flight that Holden is a spoiled loser. This is because it would add context to his cynical ness. The main theme of the novel was trying to save children (like Caulfield once was) from making poor choices, being exposed to the "phony" and terrible influences that Holden criticizes yet seems to revel in, and ultimately end up like Holden himself. That, I believe, is a proper excuse for how everything in the novel is criticized and scrutinized by Caulfield, a pampered underachiever. I believe that the entire novel was well written to support that theme. Those who were disappointed by Catcher, I believe, also were unimpressed by "To Kill A Mockingbird" and "This Boy's Life". Though the writing styles and character focus is different (Scout Finch is a young girl coming of age and Tobias Wolff is the kind of kid Holden would want to protect), the theme is explained and the plot is excused -if you read with concentration- in the title itself

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Summary: A Book Review. It Really Is.
Review: What would you do before you had to confront your parents after just getting expelled from yet another school? The Catcher in the Rye, by Jerome David Salinger, is a book about a teenage 16-year-old boy named Holden Caulfield who has a problem staying in this all-boys prep school called Pency but then gets exempted from the school. Now he must confront his parents. Instead of deciding to face them with his failure, he decides to: take an early vacation, wander around the streets of New York City, and come into contact with some interesting characters.
The majority of the novel takes place in New York City during post-war America which is in the early 1950's. The start of the novel takes place at Pency prep school. When Caulfield leaves Pency, he goes to various places in New York City, some of which are pretty popular. Areas of New York are very much like ghettos. An example description from the book would be, "The whole lobby was empty. It smelled like fifty million dead cigars. It really did." The journey begins just a week before Holden's Christmas break. But the real setting doesn't come till you read to the end. This is where the book's popularity comes from.
The narrator here is Holden Caulfield, the main character, who is an egomaniac because he thinks too highly of himself as not being "phony" and the only genuine person in mankind. As the story goes on he meets these strange, yet interesting characters he barely knows and criticizes them. He criticizes everyone! Not himself, just everyone else. He's a pretty smart guy, I'll give him that, but he's not so buff and tuff. Actually... he's very much a pacifist. His reputation is a bad one. He has flunked almost all his classes and has gotten the boot from three different boarding schools. The only class he's good at is English, and this is because he thinks all his other classes are "tedious" and "phony". Throughout the story Holden is pretty much the same because he can't let go the thought of his phony society around him. I like how he critiques all the common things done by the common people, it really makes me think.
The strange thing about this book is it doesn't have a real sticky plot. What I mean is... there is no plot! Hah! What kept me reading was the no plot idea and the unpredictability of where the book was headed. Holden is supposed to leave Pency and immediately tell his parents at home of his expulsion. He doesn't do it; instead, he wanders around in NYC. Then his favorite teacher betrays him. Mr. Spencer, one of the few teachers Caulfield liked, broke the news to his parents. This makes him even more terrified to go home so he travels incognito. Holden also gets into bizarre situations in the slums and hotels of New York. He feels like he can't speak to anyone except to his 10 year old sister named Phoebe, and he frequently recalls memories of his deceased little brother. At times, he even thinks about suicide or running away because of the "corrupt society around him".
Salinger has an interesting way of writing, and brings out the reputation of his characters at the start. As far as difficulty is concerned, all you need to know are words like: conceited, phony, inferior, and complex, and you're set. He repeats statements and opinions over and over again to show Holden's strong opposition or power of his thoughts. The moral here is that everyone must grow up, it is inevitable, and that you can't change the opinions of others as easily as you think you can. Don't expect that criticizing people will help you change the world to the way you want it to be, the world is set and no man can alter it. I'm a person who doesn't find most fiction books interesting enough to finish, but when I got a hold of this book, I had to keep reading to finish it. After you read this book you really have to think about it for a while and find a revelation on your own. This is the major part of the book, and you'll appreciate this book for it. The only word that can describe this book is... "interesting" and it really makes you think to make you say out loud, "Wow!" Although there are some vulgar word usages here and there, I'd recommend this book to anyone, especially teenagers who can really relate.

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Summary: What the...?
Review: What's the big fuss over this book? I was looking for "classics" and I kept hearing people rant and rave over this book, so I figured I should read it and maybe be enlightened or something. No such luck. As a matter of fact, I couldn't wait to get to the point of the book, which never seemed to come. It was so incredibly boring that I didn't even finish the book. I was bound and determined to do so, but I was losing my mind, reading this book. I had about enough of hearing Holden repeat himself on each and every topic, and hearing about "phonies". I could definitely have been better off reading something else. So, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.

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Summary: Irish Fiction
Review: When all you have is hope, hope is all that you need.

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Summary: Definately worth reading
Review: When I first began reading this book, I couldn't quite realise why it was rated so incredibly highly by many. Sure, it was a good read and an interesting character story, but it seemed to have flaws. Its pretty much a given that the plot is hardly a page-turner, though I came to see this wasn't the point - it is a view into the world of the protagonist. And we don't always love the protaganist. He is likable and lifelike as a character, but his rich-boy angst can wear out and the constant use of the phrase 'This made me feel depressed' particularly irritated me, as it tended to be applied to rather minor afflictions. The idea of millions of teens reading the book and "connecting" with his angst seems a little bit 'corny', as Caulfield might put it.

However, we don't have to believe in the perfection of the character to enjoy the book (the most interesting characters are always the ones with deliberate flaws), and the narration is buoyed by a genuinely acute and witty sense of humour and some valid observations about the world that ring true. I find it hard to say its one of the greatest books I've ever read - the language, though distinctive and realistic, isn't exactly rich or beautiful, contrasted with, say, Kerouac's 'On The Road', written around the same time, is also a sort of narrative monologue, and also uses modern language rather than the classical - but in a way that bursts with life and beauty. However, 'Catcher In The Rye' is the kind of book that you ought to read at some point in your life and I'm glad that I have - it is an interesting work and a good one, if not one of my favourites of all time.

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Summary: Key to the male mindset
Review: When I first began reading this book, I didn't understand Holden's viewpoint or why he said and did the things he did. About midway through the book, I discussed it with my one of my male friends, who informed me that to truly understand where he was coming from, it helped to be male, but that it might help to try and read it from the male perspective. Suddenly, everything guys had ever done that didn't make sense started to make sense. My advice to girls who read it and are puzzled: Try reading it from a male viewpoint. All the things that teen boys do will cease to be completely irrational.

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Summary: It held me from start to finish
Review: When I first heard this book was on my required reading for my summer going into high school I thought, "oh no, a baseball book". And then, when I bought it at the book store I thought, "no picture on the cover, ugh". Ok, I was proved wrong. Number one the book has nothing to do with baseball, as if you intelligent bookworms didn't know that beofre. And who cares if the cover has no picture. The book is spellbinding, when I read the first sentence about the "David Copperfield crap" I knew it was my kinda book. It's so sad, and we all can relate to it. I bump into a phony person everyday and groan about it, but at least I know Holden did too. I constantly use the term "that killed me" in my vocabulary. The Catcher in the Rye has changed my life. If you haven't read it, get it. It's definitely not a waste of time. Oh yeah, and if you have to read it for school, buy the CliffsNotes and read the chapter summary after you've read the full chapter in the book. This helped me point out symbols my teacher didn't even know about. When I grow up I'm going to give my child when she turns 15, my old, scruffed up, paperback copy of the Catcher in the Rye and show her how amazing literature can be.

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Summary: This book hits sooo close to home
Review: When I first picked up Catcher in the Rye, around three months ago (my mom said I would love the book and that I should read it at thirteen...so of course I avoided it at all costs;) I was in really bad shape emotionally. I, 16, have been frustrated with school and was having trouble relating to all of humanity (I'm kind of messed up to begin with, but this was bad.) I basically buried my entire life into the my music, or the viola (I still do, actually) and I blatantly refused to put even the slightest effort into school (its pretty Totalitarian in New York....regents) and I felt like no one understood me. Then I finally discovered Holden.
He helped me through this school year, I swear to god. Everything he said I could immediatly relate to, every word that came out of his mouth seemed to give me a new hope for humanity; He helped me beleive that i wasn't alone in a world that is blinded by money and snobbery and pointless fads, and I finally didn't feel like such a loner anymore (I was into music, but it was totally ego driven at school and everyone [was bad] anyways.)
I enjoyed Holden's adventure because he didn't do what society wanted him to do- he knew that if he were to find his soul and niche in the world he couldn't conform to other's expectations. He was, whether anyone thinks so or not, a brilliant and creative person whom was lost in the world, and not only did I identify with him as a Teenager but also as an aspiring creative mind.
Along with Catcher in the Rye there are two other things, in different media forms, that I adore and beleive the Holden fans will adore also. They are the comic book and Movie Ghost World. Ghost world, like Catcher, has a very bitter and cynical theme, and the plot also takes a backseat to the emotions and impulses of the character (another part of Catcher that I loved) I won't get into Ghost world-I'll just say that it is unbeleivable and visionary, like catcher

Ignore the many Gramatical errors...I really don't [care] if they were there or not so I didn't check

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Summary: Very, very good!
Review: When I first picked up this book, it was for a school project, but I ended up loving it.

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Summary: I'm the real Holden : )
Review: When I first read "Catcher in the Rye," the one thing I noticed was the parallel between Holden and my own life. I live in Los Angeles, land of many "phonies"--the same type that Holden appeared to be criticizing. Holden wants to be a genuine human being, one who can actually be himself. Instead of playing a role in life, Holden wants to live life. It is quite unfortunate that the life Holden wants to lead is not really achievable. We all have roles to play, whether we want to play them or not. Witness the scene where Holden calls up a prostitute -- and, in Holden's character, he does not play the role he's supposed to lead -- where he enganges in sexual behavior with her.

Instead, Holden wants to learn about the prostitute. He cares for her. He wants to talk to her. Discuss things. Isn't that strange? Totally out of character. It is not what one would expect. That's Holden.

Perhaps one of the biggest problem, though, is that people who do not want to be a "phony" -- those who would prefer to, in Thoreau's words, "march to their own drummer," have a difficult time. Holden doesn't have many friends. He seems like a drifter. Doesn't really do well in school.

Is this a lesson to be learned? Are the bums on the street former Holden's, unable to adjust to reality, drifting to find their authenticity somewhere in the world? It is certainly possible.

On the prose: The prose is wonderful. Very readable, as many have mentioned. It's always very inexpensive and I recommend that everyone should have one copy in their book shelf.

-- Michael Gordon, from Los Angeles.