Catcher in the Rye

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Summary: They make you read it for a reason.
Review: Holden Caulfield is an egotistical loser. I've heard countless high school juniors say something akin to that after reading "The Catcher In the Rye" as assigned reading. To tell the truth, this thought ran through my head until I got to chapter eleven. Contrary to popular oppinion, "The Catcher In the Rye" is not a book for lonely outcast geeks who don't fit in. I'm almost totally sure that EVERY adolescent has experienced the entire gamut of feelings and emotions that Holden goes through during the course of this book. That is why I strongly recommend this book to anyone who has not had the pleasure (or displeasure as the case may be) of reading it. I think if you sit back and try to feel and remember what it was like to feel real pain (which I'm almost positive everyone has at least tasted at one time or another) while you read it. If you still don't get it by the time your done, maybe you should turn off the TV, get outside, and experience life first hand you egotistical loser.

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Summary: The most misunderstood book in the world.
Review: Holden Caulfield is an untypical character, scandalously believed to be the epitome of teenage angst. Subjects of his kind are few and far between and worshipers of his ethos contradict themselves with un-Holden-like gestures of 'coolness' and materialism. No wonder Salinger 'pukes', as he might put it, at his cult following, ALMOST the antithesis of what he was trying to promote.(PR)I met a girl outside a nightclub with an American accent. "Have you read 'The Catcher in the Rye'?, I asked. "Yes!!!!", she replied, "I spent a time being in love with Holden Caulfield!". I was pleased, but then she tried to shake my hand in a stylised 'cool' manner. I tried to respond but failed...oh...but she turned on me; "Hey, get with it, man!", and walked off, not annoyed, but none too impressed...the point is 'The Catcher in the Rye' is a comment on society. It is densely planned but sounds like the simply written diary of a complicated, compassionate, emotional person. It is hilarious and tragic, the author engaging one in a seemingly non-technical rollercoaster of truth, of the way life should be and the way people could be. There is no effect of Salinger distancing the reader with any form of over-stylised excess. Holden is talking TO you, not at you. He becomes the reader's friend.(PR) This is no adolescent book: it is universal and for anybody who has sense and compassion enough to understand: the adolescent eyes of Holden Caulfield are used simply as a means of making the point: he hasn't enter the world so his plight becomes more powerful. He doesn't want to because he is more mature...ironically.(PR) The Vespers of wit clothe the more sombre truth in a short, to-the-point novel, written by a perfectionist with no frills, about a man who so longs for an escape route from imperfection. Joseph Zachary Humphries ([e-mail]),Bolton, England.

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Summary: a perceptive study of the human condition
Review: Holden Caulfield is angry, afraid and frustrated, but most of all, he's human. Holden possesses a quality that every human being can relate to- be it rage, fear, love, or the need to protect everyone from everything- including themselves. Holden needs love, and he strives to preserve innocence. He feels he has to be the savior- a catcher in the rye. The Catcher in the Rye addresses many issues. It is a commentary on the insensitivity of modern society. Holden is a hero who stands against the hypocrisy that almost all others accept. As much as he would like to accept the world and be comfortable like almost everyone else, he can't pretend that his society is worthwhile. The novel is about a boy who struggles to remain faithful to what he sees as the truth. His version of truth, however, is very subjective, and not necessarily correct. In his mind even good or beautiful things can be tainted because of the true motives of their creators. But primarily, this is a novel about a disturbed teenager who refuses to grow up, and let go. He has a fixation on childhood, which shows itself in his glorifying of children, his inordinate admiration of his younger sister, his idealization of his dead younger brother, and the joy he gets from reminiscing about his own childhood. He brings on his illness so he won't have to face his approaching adulthood. He's afraid of what lies ahead in his life, and clings to what he knows will protect him- that innocence that all children possess.

Rating:
Summary: Being a Catcher in the Rye
Review: Holden Caulfield is beautiful. He's a real person and I think that's why people love this book so much; why teenagers love this book so much. That's why I loved it. It presents us with the options that say there's more to life than what's thrown at us. We don't have to give a damn about phonies, and that makes it easy because the world is full of em.

This book is Caulfield, it relies on his observations and his description. He sees and recounts things the way only an induvidual could, he's totally independent, and caters to nothing and no one but himself, and yet he's not selfish, he truly cares for people and has a sweet sentimental side that pushes through. He's easily revolted and seems to seek a better world apart from the trash he experiences. And though from the outset you may think of him as a stereotypical cynical and rebellious teen, and where he is, he's more than that, and I think that's what Salinger wants you to discover, he wants you to have preset prejudices, so he can take you a step further into Holden's world which hunts "phonies" and challenge your perspective and priorities.

This book is unbelievably well written in a way that baffles you with it's talent and makes you smile. The words are lyrical and phrases priceless and it's full of hope and humor despite the mean and connivingly treacherous world presented. We're shown a cynical and harsh life for those who don't conform, and yet when Holden describes what he wants to be, a person who stands in rye grass catching people before they fall off the cliff even though "they don't exist", we see how it's so terrible to be a "phony" in a world full of people.

Rating:
Summary: It killed me
Review: Holden Caulfield is probably the most interesting character I've ever come accross. I think that everyone can see a little bit of themselves by peering into Holden's mind and seeing the seemingly small, insignificant things that "kill" him or depress him. The book was also surprisingly funny at times - I often caught myself laughing out loud.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: Holden Caulfield is sometimes called the King of the Losers. An apt title, if you go by his school grades. But if you go by his life experience, it is not true at all. No, Holden's not a role model. He's not somebody you look up to. He's probably not even somebody you'd come to with a problem. But in a way he is somebody to admire. So much of being a teenager is schoolwork and being pushed to succeed just for the sole purpose of going to a good college, so you can get a good job and live in a cubicle for the rest of your days, doing the same thing every day. Holden isn't that. I'm not saying it's bad, I'm not saying it's not the right life for some people, but you need to experience life. And that is just what Holden does. Salinger's writing style is awesome and this is my favorite book for all time

Rating:
Summary: reality
Review: Holden Caulfield is the knight of reality fighting with the corrupt world of phoniness. He is not the hero of a book that is published to make profit. Holden Caulfield is the manifestation of anger to people who perceive human relations as acting.They only act and the worst thing these dandies do ,they alienate the others who cannot act phonily. Reading this book will uncover the masks of phonies. Please read to save yourself from being phony.

Rating:
Summary: Best book I've ever read
Review: Holden Caulfield is the most loving, caring, beautiful person I have ever come across. He criticizes the bad, hypocritic, inhuman ("phony") aspects of human nature, but is constantly falling in love with the truth and beauty that people exhibit. He's in so much pain and is so depressed, and yet he still has an overwhelming desire to save others. He is a saint. I think that anyone who has read this book and did not like it (like me, the first time I read it) must either be too immature to understand it or must be looking in all the wrong places for something that doesn't exist in Catcher in the Rye. To anyone reading it for the first time, forget everything you've ever heard about it. Just sit back, read, and analyze for yourself everything that Holden says and feels. I've found that people who are like the "phonies" that Holden criticizes are too caught up in hating Holden for his depression and confusion that they don't listen to the real messages in the novel. It is important to see Holden's profound love for humanity, as well as his pain, underneath his professed hatred. Anyway, do what you want. But I'll say that, if you're not interested in what it means to be human, you might want to consider reading something else.

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Summary: School project: Review of Catcher in the Rye
Review: Holden Caulfield is the most ordinary person you will ever meet, but he is also the most genuine and endearing. At the crossroads of his adolescent life, he finds himself kicked out of yet another private school. On a cold winter night, before winter break is to let out we follow Holden on a journey of self discovery and acceptance as he makes his way home for Christmas. Holden is an intelligent guy who simply cannot find any meaningful relationships with the people he meets because he is depressed and bored with life. As we follow Holden, he narrates his past through his thoughts and reflections on his life up until this point. There is tragedy in the loss of his brother, but more love than he even realizes when speaking of his family and past friendships. Holden meets many interesting people on his way home, and you live through these experiences with him by Salinger's brilliant narration. Holden is a character that we will all relate to because he sees life through the eyes of the confused and jaded teenager that we all were at some point. He believes that he is grown up and ready to move on from all the B.S that high school has to offer but you still see him clinging onto childhood and the little boy he once was. This is a compelling novel about growing up, letting go of the past and getting on with life even after it cheats you a dozen times. It's about not knowing what to do with the rest of your life when you're too young to realize that you don't need to know all the answers right now. You have only to gain by reading this book.

Rating:
Summary: Poignant
Review: Holden Caulfield is the ultimate disgruntled teenager attempting to find his way in life-over fifty years later, most teenagers ask the same questions and view the world in many of the same ways as Holden.