Catcher in the Rye

read this years ago in one sitting, couldn't put it down, must get around to reading it again

I began reading this book because I'm studying it at school, and I have to say I'm impressed! The beginning is a bit slow in it's storyline, but I'm really enjoying it and am almost finished. I'm really enjoying it and I think JD Salinger has such a unique way of writing that it would be hard for anyone not to enjoy the book.

A good story. I enjoyed it.

I expected a lot more. Highly overrated.

hmn not bad, not bad. I enjoyed it...i wonder tho if i enjoyed it because i'm a teenager, hmmmmmm. I liked Holden's view that the world is full of phonies, because, quite frankly we are all phony in our own way. We want to be accepted by other people so we conform to society.

Is this book a criticism of the "damn-phonies" attitude epitomized by Holden, or just an expression thereof, or both? I read that Catcher in the Rye is one of the most-assigned books for school-kids, which one might think reflects a kind of cooptation or endorsement of the book by the fake society its protagonist struggles against. Why? Is it just because it speaks to isolated kids, or is it hoped that it might also help them see the error of their ways?

For me, at least, the book's criticism of Holden's worldview was the most powerful part, and what has stayed with me since reading it in school. There are phonies, to be sure, but lashing out at fakeness will hurt well-intentioned, good people.

You noticed that Holden himself sometimes takes the role of phony (or at least, he isn't entirely truthful). He's a flawed narrator, and his criticism might suggest that phoniness is endemic to the human race.

I'd agree with your last paragraph.

Simply, a classic in a literary world that overuses the term. In the top five books ever written. Not bad for a guy who drinks his own urine (allegedly)

I hadn't read this book in a while, but it kept popping up in conversation. So I figured it could be kismet and I picked up a copy and read it. Maybe I'm just not that good at analyzing books anymore. Or deconstructing them or whatever post-post-modern thing that is the trend in literature classes right now, so my opinions may not be very hip. "The Catcher in the Rye" was funny at times and also very sad. The book reminded me a lot of being 16 years old. There were some interesting points made. Holden Caulfield is a bit of a Shakespearian tragic figure. He is racked with indecision and calls everyone a phony but is himself a phony, for example you can't berate Hollywood, like I do on my blog, and then go to a movie. There are a few interesting quotes about the book that I would type here, but they are pretty long. Basically they were along the lines of: lots of great people have been disgusted with society and they have documented it, you need to find the size of your mind and fill it with thoughts that fit, and being brilliant and creative are great but they need to be complemented by being educated and scholarly. I am only giving it 3 stars because for such a classic, it was, well, pretty good. It wasn't Ulysses.