The Catcher in the Rye
 | Back Bay Books, 2001, Paperback Customer Rating: 2766 reviews Recommend |
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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.
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.
Title: The Catcher in the Rye
Sales Rank: 160 in Books
Author: J.D. Salinger
Publisher: Back Bay Books, 2001-01-30, Paperback, 288 pages, ISBN: 0316769177
Package Dimensions: 7.95 x 5.2 x 0.87 inches, 0.93 pounds
- My favorite book
- I am 30 and I just read the book for the first time. I knew about halfway through that it would become my favorite book. I dreaded each turned page because I knew I was closer to the end.… More reviews
- You WILL love this book!
- Maybe you've heard too much about it. Maybe you're buying it because you have to read it for school. Maybe you're sick of hearing people talk about it and want to read it so that you'll understand what all the fuss is about.
Just get it. Read it. You'll really like it. Promise.
(And, when you're done… More reviews
- As entertaining as it wasn't...
- Having been forced to read this horrid novel for English, I can say that it is possibly the most boring book. Looking back, I can't recall anything of importance happening. Angst angst angst. Did I read the same book as the 5 stars?
Innovative and enlightening? I think not. It's one dull page after another as Holden explores the woes… More reviews
- Not satisfied
- The book was in poor condition. The pages were brown and stained. This is the 3rd time I've reviewed this product. Please don't send again. Terri… More reviews
- Young and foolish
- I love this little book. And I am not completely sure why. No, it is not the most engaging and brilliant of stories. It's simply a rambling journey of 16 year old Holden-and his subsequent misadventures. Would I have liked a guy like Holden in high school back in the day? Probably not! But the genius of this little story is the way Salinger brings… More reviews
