After recently re-reading Lord of the Flies and enjoying it much more than when I read it back in school, I thought I'd see if Catcher in the Rye improved upon re-reading. It didn't. I will never understand how this gets to the top of so many great novel lists. ( )

Rich Kid's Blues - It Really Is.

If you set yourself a target of reading books published in 1951 you can't really ignore The Catcher in the Rye. I was surprised to learn however, that it had been published in serial form in 1945-46. It was a re-read for me although I can't remember how long ago I originally read it and I was under the impression that it was perhaps the original "Rebel Without a Cause" novel, but it really isn't. What did impress me this time round was how convincingly Salinger succeeds in getting inside the head of a 17 year old boy who doesn't fit in with his parents or his peer group. The novel is told by Holden Caulfield himself, as he battles the depression of a freezing weekend after he has been expelled from his fancy preparatory school in Pennsylvania and puts off the inevitable homecoming. His well to-do family will not be pleased especially as this is not the first time Holden has been expelled from school.

Holden is prone to exaggeration and is not the most reliable of witnesses, but he tells his story very much in his own words, exposing himself to ridicule as the boy who just can't be bothered to toe the line. There are perhaps reasons for his behaviour: he was close to his younger brother who died of Leukaemia, a friend at school, who may have had similar issues of inadequacy, commits suicide by throwing himself off the building and the only teacher who cares about Holden enough to try and help him, may have darker reasons for doing so. Holden is a complex character, he suffers his teenage angst more than most, he has moments of clear sight, but all is wrapped up in such immature behaviour that his best friend is his ten year old sister. Salinger's supreme achievement is to reveal the different facets of Holden's character in language that an immature 17 year old boy might use. He makes Holden believable and even likeable. As Holden desperately searches for ways to fill up the empty spaces in his weekend and the empty spaces in his life, his thoughts and mood swings, career around in ever decreasing circles. The use of a stream of conscious like technique enhances the confusion, the fears, the desperate actions of a young man seemingly at war with his peers and figures in authority.

Perhaps there had never been a novel quite like The Catcher in the Rye when it finally appeared in 1951 and so I would rate it as 5 stars for its originality. Re-reading it now in 2024, it is still a striking piece of work, but there are other themes jostling around in the confused whirl of Holden Caulfield's story that bear further thought; for example: The American Dream is not for everybody, even those who are in the upper reaches of society like Holden, what happens to those individuals who cannot sign up for it, are they sick, mentally unstable, delusional perhaps, do they risk being ostracised, cast aside or even being locked up. There is no safety net for those who do not conform and we know that Holden will find this out soon enough. In my opinion this is still an impressive read, even though Holden's errant behaviour no longer seems rebellious. ( )

I should have read this as a teenager: I would have loved it then, maybe. Forty-four year old me, can't cope with the self-absorbed whining of the evolving mind. I will re-read in ten years and see if something changes. ( )

A classic for adolescent readers, but re-reading it 50 yrs later didn't impress me as much. ( )

Ugh. I so wanted to like this book, I just couldn’t get into it, couldn’t see the point of it, can’t understand the hype. Yes, it’s an interesting perspective written in an interesting manner, but is it good? Not in my opinion.

As a banned book, I was drawn to The Catcher in the Rye, and for that reason, I am glad to have read it. I don’t think any books should be banned; if you don’t like them or their content, don’t read them, but don’t ban them.

I would love to write this review on what the book was about, but that too, is difficult - I’m not really sure. A 17-year old boy flunks out of what appears to be his umpteenth school after the death of his brother, and he doesn’t want to face his parents with this news, so he takes a few days meandering around New York having adventures. Meh.

I would, however, suggest reading this, it is highly acclaimed and well-written, just not my cup of tea, plot-wise. ( )