Catcher in the Rye

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Summary: This was an AMAZING masterpiece
Review: When I read the first 2 chapters of this assignment I was appaled by the realness of the character and his feelings. I asked for an alternate assignment. Then I picked it up to read one more chapter and If I still did not like it I could get an alternate assignment. Needless to say, I couldn't put it down. This is a timeless must read for everyone. One of the best books next to Death of a Salesman that I have EVER read. Sallinger ...Bravo...

Rating:
Summary: This is the best book that I have ever read.
Review: When I read this book I felt as if I was reading about myself. The story of Holden caulfied moved me far beyond any words could express. I love the different intertwining slips that holden's character takes. If you have not read this book, you should, it is excellent!

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Summary: Scary
Review: When I read this book in '63, I promptly swallowed a bottle of asprins. Please be careful to whom you recommend this book. I survived, but it was a long, slow and painful experience

Rating:
Summary: Amazing!
Review: When I read this book, I was a junior in High School. I found the book to be almost autobiographical. I related to Holden quite well and I felt that he was telling the story of my life. It was quite influential! I enjoyed it greatly and it made me a better person.

Rating:
Summary: It's not a classic for no good reason.
Review: When I read this book, I was Holden Caulfield. I myself am seventeen, and I can totally relate to what he was experiencing. Now, I imagine a field of rye where children gather to play, and I feel that it is my responsibility to protect those children from the increasingly unsafe world in which we live. Now, whenever I see the 'f-word' written on walls or tables, I do try to remove it. I feel that if everyone read this book, and took it to heart, then our world would be the better for it. Salinger has composed such an incredible amount of detail for this book. I found it especially interesting when Holden would comment on something so obscure that few people would even notice it, nevertheless mention it. The way I see it, Allie represents mistakes of the past. D.B. is the mistakes of the present, and sweet Phoebe represents the future that will repeat these mistakes. Holden is the only one that can do something to protect the future. He wants Phoebe not to be as bitter as he is. Holden represents us. You and I. We must change the world to protect the future for our kids. That's the ultimate message in The Catcher in the Rye.

Rating:
Summary: Timeless and True
Review: When I read this in high school as required reading I loved it, and felt some kinship with Holden. Having reread it 14 years later I realize that I was Holden - or am. The thought patterns, the use of language, being easily annoyed with dumb people, feeling physically ill when confronted with the inhumanity of the world - it all rang so true for me. The absurdity of life. All the "phonies" out there.

How can an author capture this feeling that so many young men feel? It's amazing to me how this story speaks to me in a very personal way, and yet so many other people feel the same way. Isn't this the story of an outcast? What does it say about our society when a large percentage of my peers have so much in common with Holden Cauffield? Is this a timeless story, or one born of 20th century America?

I'm going to make a mental note to revisit the world of Holden when I have children of his age. My parents probably could have benefited from doing the same.

There's not much else for me to say that hasn't been said before about Catcher in the Rye. Writing this does make me question the 5 star ratings I've given other books. I'd like to give this a 5+.

Rating:
Summary: The most realistic book I've ever read.
Review: When I say realistic, I mean it. No phonies, no nothing. The book focuses on Holden Caulfield, a repressed 16 year old who just got kicked out of his private high school. This book was written and supposedly takes place in the 1950's with the "Leave it to Beaver" type families and rebellious teens. Holden is just an average teenager. But what makes this book interesting is that he brings a sense of reality into the world. He never goes to the movies, movies are phony. He hates phony things, but the truth of the matter is, he's a phony, a hypocrit. He despises phonies and yet he lies without shame, that's Holden. When you read this book, it's hard not relate to him. You want to meet him and have a good long talk with him. He's a real kid and not many books can show the truth in this. I can assure you with full confidence that this one does.

Rating:
Summary: great book
Review: when i started this book i wasn't sure if i was going to finish it but as i continued reading it, i quickly learned how interesting it was. you can not only have your own opinion on what is really going on in this book but you can learn a lesson from it.

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Summary: this book changed my life.
Review: when i was 13 and going through a bout of depression, my father recommended reading Catcher. it was a rite of passage for him and it was even more important to me. at a time when i felt that no one could understand, and that everyone was wearing a mask, here was a book that gave me a character to identify with. Holden Caulfield: at once apathetic and also highly motivated; anti-social and misanthropic and yet fanatic about social rituals-- an adolescent troubled, yet intelligent. reading about Holden's journey through New York City made me realize that much of adolesence is the same now as it was then.

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Summary: "Catcher" through the years.
Review: When I was fourteen in 1965 I caught my mother reading a book on the beach and laughing out loud, the surrounding sunbathers be damned! When I asked, she told me the book was "The Catcher In The Rye" and I seem to recall that I orginally thought it was about a baseball player's drinking problem. She gave the book to me when she'd finished and I was soon in hysterics of my own: at fourteen I wasn't looking for deeper meanings.Rereading "Catcher" about six years later, after having weathered a few Holdenesque travails of my own I found myself identifying (and sympathizing) with old H.C. and his often off-centered points of view.Twentyfive years later I found myself back where I'd started: enjoying the humor of the book as I had that first time. Personally I find ¨Catcher" the perfect "rite of passage" story, even if the passage is the long corridor of years that make up a lifetime. It has been there for me, in different incarnations to suit the times, as joker, teacher, and amusing friend. What more does one need to call a book a "classic"?