RATING: 4/5 stars!
Author: J.D. Salinger
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Publication date: 1951
Find it on Goodreads here!
SUMMARY (from Goodreads):
Since his debut in 1951 as The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield has been synonymous with "cynical adolescent." Holden narrates the story of a couple of days in his sixteen-year-old life, just after he's been expelled from prep school, in a slang that sounds edgy even today and keeps this novel on banned book lists. It begins,
"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them."
His constant wry observations about what he encounters, from teachers to phonies (the two of course are not mutually exclusive) capture the essence of the eternal teenage experience of alienation.
"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them."
His constant wry observations about what he encounters, from teachers to phonies (the two of course are not mutually exclusive) capture the essence of the eternal teenage experience of alienation.
REVIEW:
To start off, I was assigned to read this book for school, and I was NOT looking forward to it. I thought it would be boring, and I just didn't really want to read it. But I really needed a good grade in the class, so I started to read it.
And I loved it.
Holden Caulfield's observations of the world are absolutely hilarious. I could relate to a lot of them. And even though I could tell this book was geared more toward boys, I, as a girl, still got a lot out of it.
It also puts perspective on maturity and growing up. Holden doesn't want to grow up, and he avoids it at all costs. But this is ultimately his downfall. I feel like teenagers can relate to him and his feelings of loneliness and never wanting to grow up.
But why the four stars? As funny as Holden was...he got a bit annoying after a while. Towards the end of the book I was ready to slap him upside the head. It got better eventually, but it was still frustrating.
Overall, THE CATCHER IN THE RYE is a fabulous book. I highly recommend it!!!
CONTENT: Quite a bit of swearing and talk of sex and prostitutes. Definitely not for younger readers.
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