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The Catcher in the Rye

By J.D. Salinger

(1621)

| Others | 9780140237498

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Critics

Sins of the father

Getting to meet Peggy Salinger is not an entirely straightforward matter. Certain precautions are taken whose very nature I am not permitted to describe, because that is one of the precautions. They are dictated by the "threat management" firm she ha ... (read full critics)

guardian.co.uk published on Sat, 25 Sep 2010

66 Reviews

8 people find this helpful

Masterpiece

The story is simple but strongly engaging - it's about the brief adventure of a cynical youngster, Holden Caulfield, who hated "phony" stuff. He may not seem to be very likeable, but as you read the story you can clearly feel his pain, loneliness and disillusion in this world of phoniess and hypocri ... (continue)

The story is simple but strongly engaging - it's about the brief adventure of a cynical youngster, Holden Caulfield, who hated "phony" stuff. He may not seem to be very likeable, but as you read the story you can clearly feel his pain, loneliness and disillusion in this world of phoniess and hypocrisy. At certain points I wondered: is he rotten, or is the world rotten? Or both? Is he or the world insane? A very thought-provoking book indeed.

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larukucafe said on Mar 31, 2006 about the Mass Market Paperback edition | Add your feedback

3 people find this helpful

Confusion saves the day. I really mean it.

When I was reading Ken Kesey's One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, I searched quite casually online and found out that it is often "studied" together with William Faulkner's "The Sound and the Fury" and Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye".
I first heard of this book in McCourt's Teacher Man, when ... (continue)

When I was reading Ken Kesey's One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest, I searched quite casually online and found out that it is often "studied" together with William Faulkner's "The Sound and the Fury" and Salinger's "The Catcher in the Rye".
I first heard of this book in McCourt's Teacher Man, when he recalled his troubles with the Principal after recommending this book to his students for an easy read, just to get them started in reading something. I was mostly curious, and I didn't expect much from an easy read, indeed.
The fact is, while I continued to read it as fast as the mood carried me, I wasn't crazy about it at all before I reached the "80-percentile". Holden was just wandering and complaining all the time.
He was still complaining in the last 20%. But I love it. I love it when the author tries to do it with good intentions, and with some elegance. That's all I'd talk about this novel.
You know, I feel like Holden myself these days. How couldn't I love it?
Salinger is very skillful and all, having successfully used such a monotonic voice to draw readers' attention. Damn, was I silly. But I did like it in the end.

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phystory said on Nov 7, 2008 about the Mass Market Paperback edition | Add your feedback

2 people find this helpful

non so quante volte ho letto sto libro; qualche volta, leggendolo, holden ero io.
"Im quite illiterate, but I read a lot."
"The part that got me was, there was a lady sitting next to me that cried all through the goddam picture. The phonier it got, the more she cried. You'd have thought she did it ... (continue)

non so quante volte ho letto sto libro; qualche volta, leggendolo, holden ero io.
"Im quite illiterate, but I read a lot."
"The part that got me was, there was a lady sitting next to me that cried all through the goddam picture. The phonier it got, the more she cried. You'd have thought she did it because she was kindhearted as hell, but I was sitting right next to her, and she wasn't. She had this little kid with her that was bored as hell and had to go to the bathroom, but she wouldn't take him. She kept telling him to sit still and behave himself. She was about as kindhearted as a goddam wolf. You take somebody that cries their goddam eyes out over phony stuff in the movies, and nine times out of ten they're mean bastards at heart. I'm not kidding."
"Anyway, I'm sort of glad they've got the atomic bomb invented. If there's ever another war, I'm going to sit right the hell on top of it. I'll volunteer for it, I swear to God I will."
"Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody."

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maceleneo said on Jun 15, 2010 | Add your feedback

God-like, mighty book. This is the coolest thing I've ever read. No doubt.

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抓米 said on Mar 11, 2012 | Add your feedback

If I started digging the gold out of every passage that I thought was brilliant, there really wouldn’t be an end, so I’ll just jot down my favorite. It’s pretty unrelated with the main point that Salinger wanted to get across I guess, but more than the teenage cynicism and angst (which earned quite ... (continue)

If I started digging the gold out of every passage that I thought was brilliant, there really wouldn’t be an end, so I’ll just jot down my favorite. It’s pretty unrelated with the main point that Salinger wanted to get across I guess, but more than the teenage cynicism and angst (which earned quite a few laughs in its own right), I loved the relationship between Holden and his little sister, Phoebe. It’s really the only relationship that develops throughout the whole novel, so perhaps that's the reason why I found it so touching. In a world where he's obviously searching for some form of meaning or happiness, he doesn't find it in intelligence, in wealth, or in superficial relationships; rather, he finds it through an afternoon spent with his sister.

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fruitfulfig said on Mar 5, 2012 about the Paperback edition | Add your feedback

Teen angst hits paper

I think this book captured so perfectly both the utter nonsense and deep life-changing thoughts that run through your head as a teenager.

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Lisa Talia Moretti said on Nov 30, 2011 about the School & Library Binding edition | Add your feedback