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The Catcher in the Rye | 
 enlarge | Author: J.d. Salinger
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Category: Book
List Price: $13.99
Buy New: $6.89
You Save: $7.10 (51%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  2754 reviews
Sales Rank: 195
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 288
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.2 x 1
ISBN: 0316769177
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780316769174
ASIN: 0316769177
Publication Date: January 30, 2001
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Amazon.com
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.
Product Description
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.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 2749 more reviews...
 Dull, whinny, and phony June 30, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
I first read this book in the 9th grade. Hated the character so much I only got half way through the book and just BSed my way through the class. However, since it was a "classic" I decided I should pick it up and finish it. It turns out the character is just as annoying now as it was when I was 14. So of the reviewers have sad this novel shows "universal" problems, that some how I didn't experience. The character is really probably clinically depressed and lacks social skills. The character also rants about phonies, but he comes across as the phoniest person in the book. The character is neither endearing nor insightful into the human condition. Pretty much this book amounts to the most annoying, depressed, dull and whinny person you can imagine ranting for 200 pages. I came to hate the character so much I only continued reading hoping the character would commit die. The only reason to read this book is so you can say you read a "classic" no matter how undeserving of that title it is.
 What the . . . June 27, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
Like another reviewer said, I finally read this book because it's referred to often in other literature and movies. It really started to get on my nerves around chapter 3. I only kept reading because I wanted to give the book a chance and kept waiting for the part that (supposedly) makes this book so great. I was disappointed. This kid is so annoying! I did wonder if some of the people he was describing were simply parts of himself, such as the "digression" kid, and the "flits" he hated so much. Then I wondered if it would turn out to be a "Sunset Boulevard" type of story and he might actually be the kid that jumped out the window.
There were a couple of "aha" moments that helped me understand poor old Holden Caulfield a little better and where he was coming from, but nothing earth shattering. I just felt like shaking him and yelling, "Welcome to the real world!" At least at the end he ends up where he really needs to be. His sequel could be "One flew over the cuckoos nest".
At least I'm glad to finally check it off my "classics to read" list. Also, I'm glad I picked this book up at the library's basement sale for only 50cents. However, I still wonder what makes this a "classic". I can only attribute it to the timing of when the book was first published; teenage angst was not a popular subject in the 1940-50's. It was probably quite a novel point of view at the time.
Now I'm going to rent "Six degrees of separation" again and try to remember why it made me so curious about this book.
 Deserves the honor of "a classic" June 26, 2008
I first read this novel in 6th grade. I was enthralled then, and I've read it three times since, all at different periods of my life. I still love it. Holden is a character who faces a conflict that many of us do: how do we preserve innocence and purity in a world that seems to far removed from both? The answer is, of course, that we can't. Innocence and purity are transitory. They cannot last in the corrupted world in which we live.
Yes, the slang and the situations in the novel may be dated, but the overall human situation is one that will never be dated.
I usually don't say this, but I am hard pressed to understand how anyone cannot love this novel. I'm really surprised by some of the one-star reviews. I can't find one aspect of this novel that isn't great. To me, it is Salinger's masterpiece. Even if you read this book on a purely superficial level, you'll still be glad you did. Beyond some of the weighty issues it deals with, it is super entertaining.
my favorite book ever June 23, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Holden Caufield is possibly my favorite fictional character. Or should I say, he's the one I could most relate to. If you've ever been depressed and lonely, you can relate to Holden. If you're cynical, you can relate to Holden. Some would call him a bitter adolescent. Some would say he sees the world as it is. Whether or not you like this book will depend on your outlook on life, or at least your ability to appreciate an outlook you don't share.
The book is hilarious, as well.
Want to read a knock off? June 20, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
if u want to read a huge knock off of "The Catcher In The Rye", then read "King Dork" by Frank Portman. Its really funny if you have read this book.
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