Rating: 
Summary: Good Book !!!
Review: I find this book to be a good read beacuse it gives an insight in the mind of a teenager who is confused about what he wants to do in life. He is not motivated and has a very restless mind. While reading the book you will feel as if you know the character(Holden) very well as during his conversations he also tells us what is going in his mind. The story is basically his thoughts and people he meets in a four day period after he gets kicked out fom his High School and wanders in New York.I say read it for pleasure or to find out how does someone confused and less motivated see and perceive things in life. I found it very interesting as how his mind wandered from thought to thought without making any decisions. It will help you understand the confused and disoriented crowd to some extent.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Book
Review: I finished the book yesterday, and today I decided that I liked A Catcher in the Rye. Holden wants to catch children who are playing in rye fields before they fall off of a nearby cliff. Now what does all that mean? Why such a quirky title? Perhaps it is because the story is about a character/narrator who is himself in need of a catcher. His pessimistic views on life/people/society are often viewed as true - especially to teenagers - and quite often spark a connection between the storyteller and the reader. As a matter of fact, that's what it did for me. As I read this kid's gripes about life, I thought to myself - "Often, I feel the same way." That's why this book is so enormously popular. It connects with the American who feels as though most of society is fake, that people are for the most part stupid, and that intelligent conversation is sparse in our culture of $200 sunglasses and iced cappucinos. So for those who prefer coffee over cappucino, you'll find solace in this book. You are not alone.
Rating: 
Summary: FANTASTIC
Review: I FIRST ATTEMPTED TO READ THIS BOOK WHEN I WAS ABOUT FOURTEEN BUT COULDN'T CONTINUE IT.I WONDRED WHAT THE AUTHOR HAD BEEN ON WHEN HE WROTE THE BOOK. IT WAS LIKE NOTHING I'D EVER READ BEFORE.HOWEVER LAST EASTER 8YRS ON I TOOK IT TO PORTUGAL WITH ME AND MISSED A DAY AND HALF THROUGH COMPULSIVE READING.ONCE I GOT INTO THE STYLE OF WRITING WHICH DIDN'T TAKE LONG, I FOUND THAT IN A HUMOROUS SORT OF WAY YOU ADOPT, IN YOUR HEAD, THE DISGRUNTLED,SYNICAL AND SARCASTIC TONE THAT IS EVIDENT IN THE BOOK.ALL THE GOD DAMNS AND REPETITION BECAME REALLY ANNOYING BUT THATS WHAT MADE IT SUCH BELIEVEABLE DOWN TO EARTH BOOK.BY THE END OF THE BOOK I REALLY FELT LIKE YOU NEW HOLDEN VERY WELL IN THE SENSE THAT HE WAS MY ANNOYING BROTHER THAT I COULDN'T HELP BUT LIKE THROUGH ALL HIS ANNOYING FAULTS.THE CHARACTER HOLDEN WAS SCARILY REAL.PERSONALLY I COULD REMEMBER WHEN I WAS HIS AGE WITH THE SAME ATTITUDE AND EVEN TODAY MY ATTENTION TO DETAIL IS JUST AS STRONG AS HIS , SO IN THAT SENSE HOLDEN IS A CHARACTER THAT MANY WILL BE ABLE TO RELATE TO. THIS BOOK COULD BE VIEWED AS DEPRESSING IF THE READER DOES NOT LOOK DEEPER THAN THE SURFACE.THIS BOOK IS FULL RELATABLE HUMOUR AND WHEN I GOT TO THE END I WAS FILLED EITH DISAPPOINTMENT.I WANTED TO READ MORE.EVER SINCE READING THIS BOOK I HAVE LOOKED FOR THE SAME KIND OF BOOK WHICH IS EQUALLY AS STRONG. I TRIED NICK HORNBY'S "ABOUT A BOY" HOWEVER THE STRENGTH OF WRITING ANG CHARACTER JUST WASN'T IN THE SAME LEAGUE.THIS IS AN UNMATCHABLE BOOK.IF ANYONE THINKS THEY HAVE FOUND A SIMULAR BOOK THEN I'D LIKE TO KNOW.
Rating:
Summary: Classic
Review: I first bought this book when i was fifteen because i had heard it was meant to be shocking. I flicked through it looking for sex or violence, found none and so discarded it. However when at eighteen, feeling directionless, disillusioned and sick of human nature and the fakeness of it all, i picked this book up and read it properly i was blown away. Holden Caulfield is an incredible character that seems to summarize all aspects of the hardship of going into adulthood. Fiery and outspoken yet tired of falseness and often depressed Holden Caulfield is a brilliantly drawn character. And the book is shocking but not on a cheap, shallow level. This is reccomended reading for all young adults, infact anyone.
Rating:
Summary: Alone in sharing book's merits
Review: I first read "Catcher" in 1984 since it was required reading for my high school English Comp class. The day we submitted our essays on this book, our teacher asked if we enjoyed the book. Oddly enough, I was the only one to raise my hand. Out of a class of 35 students, I was alone in my appreciation of this book! How could this be? I was still in shock when my teacher, Mr. Ellis, asked why I liked the book. I shyly responded, "I don't know, just did." One thing I would change, if given the opportunity to go back in time, would be to properly respond to his inquiry. I regret not having the nerve to share my appreciation and rail against them for missing the point of the story: a teenager's menatal emotional collapse as he trys to come to grips with his purpose in life. Unfortunately, I come from a generation that grew up with John Hughes movies...
Over the years I have read "Catcher" many more times and still enjoy it as much as I did back then. Thank you Mr. Ellis.
Rating:
Summary: a novel you can not ignore
Review: I first read "The Catcher In the Rye" this past year as a freshman in high school, as part of an oral presentation. I was completely amazed at this novel. Holden Caulfield is a youth of sixteen years that embarks on an odyssey of self discovery. I found Holden, a character in a 1949 setting to be very real even to myself as a contemporary teenager. He is someone that teens can relate to because the issues Holden faces in "Catcher" are still the issues teenagers today battle. "Catcher" has been challenged and banned since 1951 because of the frequent use of profanity. However, the expletives are applied artistically to frame Holden's temperament and to express the hidden issues of the teenager. I am not one to curse excessively or frequently. However, I found "The Catcher in the Rye" to be an exceptional book, surpassing my original skeptical expectations.
Rating:
Summary: "CATCHER" Still #1 after 40+ Years
Review: I first read CATCHER IN THE RYE in 1965. Since then I've read it over a dozen times. Back then, I never thought I'd ever find a higher quality novel. Almost a thousand books later, it's a No Brainer, Catcher is still "the high water mark of American literature" the best novel ever. One tiny example: the abuse of Jane Gallagher by her father. Salinger says enough in just three words to convey a bone-chill and water the reader's eyes. Time after time, page-after-page he grabs the reader in the gut and won't let go. Filled to the brim with insightful positive ideas, simple humanity, embraced now by three generations. ONE TIDBIT: The name Holden Caulfield was taken from a NY movie marque for Paramount's "DEAR WIFE" starring William HOLDEN and Joan CAULFIELD. >> HOLDEN CAULFIELD.
Rating:
Summary: Great Even if You're Not Young
Review: I first read Catcher years ago and loved it, as anyone in their right mind would! Since then I've been looking for a book that reminded me of it. Recently Brauner's Love Songs of the Tone-Deaf comes close, in a different way, but nothing really compares with the original and still the greatest. Holden Caulfield will be enduring as a character 1,000 years from now!
Rating:
Summary: Wow! What a reread!
Review: I first read The Catcher in the Rye about 15 or more years ago. I'm not sure I enjoyed it, but certain pieces of it stuck with me throughout the years. I reread it yesterday, and wondered (until looking at some of the online reviews by teenagers)why they assign this book to youngsters. While certain elements make an impact, the essence of the book is almost wasted on the young, and, if they don't like it, they won't return to it. In any case, I was amazed by this book. The consistency of Holden's voice, the contemporariness of it (except for the $4000 jaguar and a few other things, it could have been written now), the angst of a depressed adolescent. Holden's language shows his depression and, because of it, his skewed thinking. It is clear that the loss of his younger brother years before had a tremendous impact on him, and continues to affect his relationships. He is not the most likeable of characters, and I don't think he would be even if he were no longer depressed, but he captures the confusion and feelings of an adolescent beautifully. I found myself thinking about many aspects of this book upon awakening this morning, among them, is this autobiographical?
Melissa Lenihan
Rating:
Summary: Worth A Second Read
Review: I first read The Catcher in the Rye at the start of my sophomore year of high school. I had no idea what it was, but I dived into it regardless. I read the famous first paragraph and was in complete disbelief. I knew I had to read the whole thing.The book was a pretty easy read, in the sense that you could read 50 pages and not even realize it. You are in Holden's mind, reading his thoughts, living his life. I will admit, as I finished I was slightly disappointed. I thought, it was nice to read, but it went nowhere. A year later, I was assigned the book as a summer reading project, so I read it again, just to refresh myself. Even the second time through it kept my attention. But when I finished, I was amazed. I just kinda got it the second time around, as a whole. So, this book is great, yada yada, everyone's pretty much explained how it works and exactly why it's great, but I just recommend if you don't really care for it the first time (especially if you are a younger person), wait a while and read it again. It can be one year or twenty, but the second time you will have have a little more knowledge about life and people to really understand The Catcher in the Rye in all it's greatness.
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