The Catcher in the Rye in Around the Year in 52 Books

Sep 12, 2008 Beth F rated it really liked it

Shelves: 1001-books, 2008, classic, death-by-teen-angst, dude-lit, banned-books

Teen angst, teen angst, teen angst, teen angst, teen angst, teen angst, teen angst, teen angst, teen angst!!!

I’ve known many a teenage boy who could have been Holden Caulfield and I applaud the author for creating such a believable character. I kind of wish I could set him up with Bella Swan from the Twilight Series just to see what would happen when you pit the epitome of obnoxious female teen angst up against the epitome of psychotic male teen angst. What would happen? Ohhh…the possibilities a ...more

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Apr 10, 2009 Trish rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: zsrc-2016-3-fall, dt-500-must-reads, world-book-day-50, how-many-100-list, classics-c20, dt-100-books, bbc-big-read, book-club-bible

Hmm. I'm not really sure what the fuss about this book is - presumably it's on the banned list because of the prostitute incident and the other sexual references. I can't say I really liked Holden, though, but I will admit, he did at least have a good side, like with the nuns, or the little girl at the skating rink, or with his little sister. However, I really don't see why it's so frequently included on "best books of the xxx" lists. Perhaps its just not my kind of book. ...more

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Nov 06, 2018 Maggie rated it really liked it

Shelves: boxall-1001, fiction, general-fiction, classics, guardian-1000, coming-of-age, unreliable-narrator, usa

Summary of Catcher in the Rye by Shmoop

Holden is transitioning from childhood to adulthood, and as he loses his innocence and is exposed to human nature, his response is violent, confused and troubled. His views on people are cynical and judgmental, yet these are a facade to protect his inward sensitive nature from being hurt. And yet this is a boy who is very much hurt – in the past from the death of his brother Allie, the death of a schoolmate James Castle, and possible sexual harassment, and Summary of Catcher in the Rye by Shmoop

Holden is transitioning from childhood to adulthood, and as he loses his innocence and is exposed to human nature, his response is violent, confused and troubled. His views on people are cynical and judgmental, yet these are a facade to protect his inward sensitive nature from being hurt. And yet this is a boy who is very much hurt – in the past from the death of his brother Allie, the death of a schoolmate James Castle, and possible sexual harassment, and in school by injustice and misunderstandings. He is compassionate and recognises the cruelties and injustice of human society, and he wants to solve these issues, but recognising that he is unable to, turns to escapism instead. Hence he spends the entire book escaping from his parents when he is expelled, and during this time frequently escapes from interactions with various people including schoolmates, old friends and family.

The title refers to a poem that a boy recites at one point. Holden overhears him and imagines himself as the catcher in the rye catching children who fall off the edge of the rye, but in reality the poem actually questions whether casual sex is acceptable. That epitomises the book. Holden has ideals, but his ideals are often in conflict with the realities of society. For example, he goes into a museum for peace and quiet, but finds a “F—- you” sign scribbled on the wall. This conflict confused and depresses him, and drives him to wild behaviour and even illness, although it is never fully explained to what extent his illness is physical or mental.

Then comes Phoebe, Holden’s saving grace. Of all the people he thinks he hates, Holden loves Phoebe. When she is angry at him, instead of escaping from her like he does with other people, he tries to win her back. And Phoebe, through her simple, pure, unconditional love and care for Holden, manages, at the end, to help Holden achieve some balance in his relationship with society. Society remains imperfect, but Holden comes to a fragile acceptance of society and his place in it. Ultimately, Holden is lonely, and although much of his loneliness is self-wrought, he is healed by Phoebe’s non-judgmental refusal to let him be alone.

I know many people hate Holden. I don’t. I don’t fully see him as a reflection of my teenage phase (I was much less troubled), but I do sympathise with his struggle to fit in and to understand the world, and the defence mechanisms he employs to cope with harsh realities. He is not whiny – in fact, though he does complain a lot in private, in public he is well-mannered and keeps much of his problems to himself. The book ended on an open note, but I do hope that those who find themselves in Holden’s situation achieve healing and peace.
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May 07, 2009 Ruthi rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Okay, so I read this book thinking it would be great. I read it thinking that it was going to "change my life" like it supposedly had for so many others. You want to know all I learned from this book? Holden is a whiny bastard who complains about everything, is as fake as they come and pretends to be an intellectual. He's a typical teenager. Honestly, go talk to a typical teenager for a day and you'll get everything you would've got out of the book. I don't see why people claim this is a classic ...more

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Feb 13, 2017 Tanya rated it really liked it

Shelves: list-1001-btrbyd, genre-young-adult, list-40-books-that-you-can-t-put, bbc-2003-top21, bbc-2003-top-100, bbc-2003-top-200, list-rory-gilmore, list-1001-btrbyd-2006, kids-1001-books-12plus, genre-classics

2/13/17 Picked his up from the library as "blind date with a book" based on the key descriptors: classic novel, adolescence, New York, frequently banned. I was somewhat pleasantly surprised to find it inside the wrapper because this is on my to be read list, but it never makes it to the top. This may be the incentive I needed to begin it--I just hope I can finish it because I didn't care for Franny and Zooey and one of my book-loving friends says that is the better of these two books. Still, thi ...more

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