| The Catcher in the Rye |  | Author: J. D. Salinger
Publisher: Penguin
Category: Book
List Price: £8.99
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as of 28/7/2010 13:53 EDT details
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New (33) Used (38) from £1.49
Seller: World of Books Ltd
Rating:  318 reviews
Sales Rank: 79
Media: Paperback
Pages: 192
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 0.6
ISBN: 014023750X
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780140237504
Publication Date: August 4, 1994
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Tells the story of a seventeen-year-old dropout who has been kicked out of his fourth school. This novel dissects the 'phony' aspects of society, and the 'phonies' themselves: the headmaster whose affability depends on the wealth of the parents, his roommate who scores with girls using sickly-sweet affection.
From Amazon.co.uk
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 16-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 haemorrhages 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. --Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk Review
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 16-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 haemorrhages 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. --Amazon.com
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 318
 Useless Drivel July 27, 2010
Jimbob (Leicester)
What a waste of paper!
I wanted to give 0 stars but the minimum was 1.
Hidden depth? July 20, 2010
purple rain (UK)
I have just finished reading the book and I can see why some of the other reviewers love it and others hate it. At first it seems a little superficial, repetitive and with a plot as thin as a piece of rice paper. However, if you can put that to one side as well as the brassy repetitive style and dig deeper, I do think this novel holds some nuggets of gold.
That cynical youth Holden seeing all others around him as 'phoney' is really a reflection on himself. He sees himself as having no depth and transfers this to those around him - they are but a mirror to his inner self. Even worse, he fears becoming like them, using success, money, status, position to paper over the cracks. In truth I think there is a little of Holden in all of us. Once cynical young people now moulded into the exact opposite of what said we would be. I think that the essence of the book can be summed up with one of my favourite quotes (one Salinger attributes to a Wilhelm Stekel - who was a psychoanalyst and follower of Freud);
"The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one."
This sums up Holden and maybe more of us than we would care to admit.I recommend reading this book and persevering with it. I am sure, that like me, that you will find a little nugget in there that will make it worthwhile.
The only book I've never finished!!!!!! July 14, 2010
Chomp (England)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a book, that in theory, I should have gobbled up (despite being 33) due to my penchant affection for the anti-hero protagonist with more failings and faults than you can shake a stick at.
Where did this fail me? Well for one - nothing happens. At all. A middle class American kid gets in a mood, and then decides he wants to go to New York.
At this point I decided I couldn't be bothered to read anymore, and left it alone (I was easily two thirds through and have vague memories of him spending time with a prostitute) and within three days I'd given the book away to somebody who had enquired about it on seeing it amidst my collection, and have no reason to regret this decision.
It's the only book that I have never finished, and it is in good company with some novels that have strained moments but prove hugely rewarding when persevered (Karamazov, War And Peace, Grapes of Wrath)
The worst thing about this book was the characters, all of which I despised. So much so I've given up even reviewing...
 dull July 13, 2010
james
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is massively overhiped as many people who love this book over look several dissapointing aspects
1. holden, the main character is irritating for his lack of action and his frequent depressive spells and salinger tries to evoke sympathy for him but i feel it is hard to sympathise with someone who does so little to help himself
2. The writing style although very original is also exassperating and frustrating at times as you quickly find yourself tiring of the relentess swear words and use of such words. Salinger no doubt has an interesting writing style but sadly his original technique is as genius as it is irritating
3. This book is also a very narrow one which centres around a few events over a few days but within this short time period holden seems to be always repeating his actions constantly being drunk, depressed and visiting the same places.
And finally the thing i feel cripples the book the most is the hype which ruins the book entirely as you believe it is going to be amazing but it only dissapoints because of your now high expectations. The one good thing about the book however is the symbols and context behind it and that it accurately portrays as teenagers struggle to be accepted within society which you could argue is an affective representation of how teenagers struggle to be accepted in modern day society, however these good points are irrelevent unless you are studying the book.
so in conclusion i would only read the book to see what all the hype and praise is about or if i had to.
James
(studied the book for GCSE English Literature, aged 15 and you thought all us teenagers were illiterate.)
Catcher in the Rye July 1, 2010
M. Tredgett Ruggles (england)
Was happy with my purchase. My daughter wanted to read the book, and the P&P was good along with the price.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 318
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