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Loading... The Catcher in the Rye (edition 2001)by J. D. Salinger
Work InformationThe Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
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A slightly addictive monologue which left me wondering about why so many of the 'great American novels' that I've read recently, such as Kerouac's On the Road and Roth's Portnoy's Complaint, are monologues about going nowhere. The former (although written earlier) seems to pick up where Catcher in the Rye leaves off; the idea of leaving the city (or a life) and hitching a ride to no particular destination. Normally, when I read, I mark special passages but here I didn't. Not sure why. Holden's voice is a sustained tour de force but I found myself wondering, at times what certain encounters contributed and how easily they could have been omitted. In many ways I think, with editing it would have made a better short story piece than a novel. Holden does not really go anywhere. A classic bildungsroman. I liked it less than other coming-of-age-novels I've read such as [b:Siddharta|444555|Siddharta|Hermann Hesse|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1296827112s/444555.jpg|4840290], but in overall it was pretty good. I couldn't relate to the cynical and mistrusting personality of the main character, which, combined with his apathy for the future and his self-fashioned loneliness, set a depressing tone for the book. It was not until I read the analysis from SparkNotes that I begun to understand the novel a little better. It also gives a very interesting impression of the loneliness and shallowness one could experience in citylife in the 50's. I've read weirder books, but they usually had some sort of plot. I'm not sure what the point of this book is or why it's such a classic. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it, either. I didn't consider it a waste of time; it wasn't that bad, but I don't feel like I've been missing out all these years by not reading it, either.
One of the greatest novels of the 20th century. In the 70 years since Caulfield first cynically railed against the world’s superficiality, the character has grown into an icon of teen rebellion, describing a timeless sense of alienation. "Some of my best friends are children," says Jerome David Salinger, 32. "In fact, all of my best friends are children." And Salinger has written short stories about his best friends with love, brilliance and 20-20 vision. In his tough-tender first novel, The Catcher in the Rye (a Book-of-the-Month Club midsummer choice), he charts the miseries and ecstasies of an adolescent rebel, and deals out some of the most acidly humorous deadpan satire since the late great Ring Lardner. Holden's story is told in Holden's own strange, wonderful language by J. D. Salinger in an unusually brilliant novel. Belongs to Publisher SeriesIs contained inHas the (non-series) sequelHas as a studyHas as a commentary on the textHas as a student's study guideHas as a teacher's guideAwardsDistinctionsNotable Lists
References to this work on external resources. Wikipedia in English (10)Story of Holden Caufield with his idiosyncrasies, penetrating insight, confusion, sensitivity and negativism. Holden, knowing he is to be expelled from school, decides to leave early. He spends three days in New York City and tells the story of what he did and suffered there. No library descriptions found.
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. Hachette Book Group3 editions of this book were published by Hachette Book Group. Editions: 0316769487, 0316769177, 0316769533 Penguin Australia2 editions of this book were published by Penguin Australia. Editions: 014023750X, 0241950430 |
Trigger warnings: Smoking, alcohol use, gun violence, racism, racist slurs, suicidal thoughts and suicide mentioned, emesis
Score: Seven points out of ten.
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I wanted to read The Catcher in the Rye since I saw it circle my recommendations, and when I saw a library having this, I immediately wanted to pick it up. I couldn't glance at the blurb, since there was no blurb. However, I went in with high hopes. When I closed the final page, the book was enjoyable.