Rating: 
Summary: What can I say? A classic
Review: Fist time I read Salinger (I'm from latin america, so it is not a "classic" there) and I found it amazing! I enjoyed it from beginning to end..
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting
Review: For a book written in the 50's--well, it's pretty 'goddamn' good and courageous. I suppose it was the first of it's kind--a realsitic view into the typical adolescent. after all, we aren't all perfect straight-a straight thinking kids. I liked it for it's honesty and it was funny, sweet and beautiful at parts, too.Holden Caulfiend is the biggest dweeb, though, oh my god. An interesting, vivid character, though. I recommend you read it...just to see
Rating: 
Summary: I'm glad I took the time to see what all the hype was about!
Review: For a long time anyone who asked me what my fav. book was I would say "The Counte of Monte Cristo." . . . . Then I read "Catcher.." WOW! I did not think another book could be as good as "..Monte Cristo." Anyways, I LOVED! it to say the least
Rating:
Summary: don't by cliffs, READ THE BOOK!
Review: For all the high schoolers out there who dread reading those boring novels assigned by your English teacher and read cliffs or sparknotes instead, do not pass this book up. I read Catcher in the Rye my junior year in high school and to this day it is still one of my all time favorite books. I'm not an avid reader. In fact, I hate reading. I can't even stand reading those Hallmark cards that have too many words on them (ha ha). But when I picked this book up I could not put it down. I'm in college now, and I still have yet to find a book that I like better than this one. I was able to relate to the main character, and I enjoyed the bitter sarcism and dark humor. I never got bored reading his thoughts. However, I do caution people who get easily offended to read with an open mind. Many of my more conservative friends found the novel distastefull. So for all you teenagers who prefer to party instead of do homework and get an oral summary from the smart kid next you in math class, the period before Englsih, at least give this book a chance. BELIEVE ME, YOU'LL LIKE IT.
Rating:
Summary: A Masterpiece! FIVE Stars
Review: For an English research paper, I decided to read Salinger's works. No wonder the 1950's were referred to as "The Age of Holden Caulfield". The many themes of childhood innocence that is lost to the vulgar adult world and the quest for spiritual fulfillment in a material world are genius. The ideas can still be applied to todays world. It is by far a wonderful book that is easy to read. (It CAN be read in 1-2 days)
Rating:
Summary: For Every Reader
Review: For every teenager who thinks he or she is alone; for every adult who needs to remember!!
Rating:
Summary: The most honest book.
Review: For people who gave this book one star or actually anytihng else than 5 stars here isan explanation why it deserves all five. The book describes a life without a huge climax, a huge partys or shocking event, but relays the real personality of the main character without having to resort to flashy things like this. You learn to love Holden for being so honest and real, becuse he points out the things everyone dislikes but forgets to mention. this is my favorite book.
Rating:
Summary: An Uniquely American Tale of Teenage Cynicism
Review: For several years the connotation of a being a "classic" had kept me from reading J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. Not knowing specifically what it was about, I finally gave into curiosity when I read it for a literature class. I was instantly sorry I had waited so long to read this book. Holden Caulfield is a lazy, cynical teen in 1950s America and he has just left his third prepatory school to return home to his family in New York City. His parents are expecting him home on a Wednesday, yet it is Monday, so the events of the novel unfold over two days in the Big Apple.
The theme that struck me the most was the one of trying to grow up too early. Holden is very much like this. He presents himself as a mature figure, smoking, drinking, hanging out in clubs, yet in his personal relationships with people, he acts quite immature. In one part of the story, Holden calls up a prostitute, wanting to become a man after all the stories he had heard about girls from his class mates at Pencey Prep, only to acquiesce to his lack of experience and asks if the prostitute would "like to talk".
My main complaint of this novel is that it reads like a journal, giving only Holden's perspective on the events that occur. I believe it would have been an improvement if Salinger had given us a look into other character's minds so we could see their perspective. This is an especially important flaw because Holden, at his center, constantly wonders what others think of him.
I would recommend this novel to teenagers, especially those who feel they do not fit into their particular environment. I know when I was younger I could definitely relate to Holden. I also find it a delicious irony that much like Holden, J.D. Salinger has spent the better part of a century in seclusion in his Northeast home.
Rating:
Summary: Forgive me
Review: for stealing your book * that's why I sent it back * I thought you were the one...
Rating:
Summary: American Teenage Beauty
Review: For the teenages and preadolences alike who read this novel the broad range of feelings in the goings on within Holden reflects an inner part of what we all could be. The catcher in the rye beautifully answers the question of what would happen if we decided to flunk out of our classes and try to make it on our own. His experiences in dating women, social affairs, and life in general reveal his character as being one of a loser in the eyes of the read. Such a loser that we, ourselves, have to question weither or not we embody at all. Do we, in fact, have problems with women, social functions, or school? For the vast majority of the population that is definitely the case thereby making the reader better able to relate to this boy who has moved in a downward spiral from some of our nation's top schools down to a mental ward reflecting upon the life that, at 17, had all gone terribly wrong.
The simple and collequal tone that Salinger gives to his protagonist gives a personal feeling reflecting almost a diary the likes of which far escape Anne Frank or any other such form. The less than eloquent style of writing and speaking that plagues Holden from progression and mirrors his lackluster work put into English provides empathy for a boy feeling as though the world has been coming down upon him as we all do during various points in our tumultious lives, and unlike us, Holden cracks under the pressure and gives into his most basic of sinful desires. While living in a motel he calls upon the services of a women of ill-repute, but backs out at the absolute last minute. When money runs low he has to go back to his sister to ask for some, money that would be taken from her piggy bank. Here a sister looks to help his brother during some of the lowest points of his teenage years. The love between the two shines through, and by the end of the novel the amount of love felt by the Caufield family toward their mentally scarred child comes between the lines.
After finishing the novel and before reading it again the idea of who would be to blame for the crime against this young man's well being and general mental health. The family did little to acomidate their son other than pay for him to go an expensive school on the east coast, yet lent no other real moral support per se. The ipso facto education provided by the universities did nothing to remedy the ills in academic and social areas during his stay on campus. Finally Holden's own inability to be mature enough to face to his final sense of failure by going back to his parents all let up to his eventual crack.
Salinger looks only to mock the american education system or the lack thereof in prestigious high schools such as Pencey Prep. There he recieved just the same education that he would have while being at a public school, while being provided with more of the types of people that could correctly balence his life. In effect giving him a better chance to steer clear of any problems that he may have had. In the end the paranoid feeling of "don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody" presents Holden's despiration and sadness at his current state of affairs. Life is beautiful? Hardly, to Holden Caulfield life can be a horribly and competative place the likes of which we all struggle to survive in. What a great piece of literature.
|
