Reviews of The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye

Posted : 10 months, 2 weeks ago on 26 February 2009 12:06 (A review of The Catcher in the Rye)

I have a sneaking suspicion that if I had read The Catcher in the Rye when I was, say, sixteen, I would worship it like everyone else does. But I didn’t, and while I didn’t worship it like everyone else, I did enjoy it greatly. My relationship with Holden was a strange one though. I kept going back and forth between empathizing and understanding where he was coming from, and thinking that he was the biggest whiner I had ever heard of. Then I remembered that he was a sixteen-year-old male, and I remembered that I too was just as annoying and dumb at that age. And I too once thought that everyone could just kiss off and deal with it. I have since grown up. Yet, I still found myself in a complicated relationship with him and interested in what he was going to do next. A part of me believes the following things: Holden is manic depressive, of which there is plenty of evidence in the text to support that and it doesn’t seem like a huge secret, but that I believe that is his specific mental illness, and that he is a homosexual. How dare I say that you say? Let’s look at the evidence: he consistently talks about disliking going on dates with girls, there are extended passages where he admires his roommates body, and, seemingly, every single one of his adult male friends, of which that seems to be all of his friends, are obviously gay. One of them even tries to feel him up in the middle of the night. Perhaps this ambiguity is one of the keys to the books continued success in speaking to generations of anger, isolated teenagers. And perhaps I was just projecting elements of myself at his age onto the character, but others have agreed or seen where I’ve gotten the “Holden is gay” theory from based on the text. Who knows. You read it and tell me what you think. Lastly, you should also read because of Salinger’s ability to stay consistent with the character’s voice throughout the entire book is quite inspiring.

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The Catcher in the Rye review

Posted : 2 years, 8 months ago on 2 May 2007 08:14 (A review of The Catcher in the Rye)

This book is perfect *.*

I love so much <3

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A classic? I don

Posted : 2 years, 11 months ago on 15 January 2007 12:25 (A review of The Catcher in the Rye)

Having never read it until now, but always holding it in a place of respect and iconic status (due to the popularity of it's name-dropping in so many mediums and genres), I feel somewhat disappointed with the actual work.

Intriguing? Yes. Life-changing? Undoubtably. Enjoyable? Eh. I really felt as though I was forcing myself to finish the entire book, just in desperate hope of finding purpose for the story and meaning in its message. It was frustrating in that aspect. Add to that the constant profanity, it really was a chore to finish the entire book, despite its brief length.

What it lost in respect in those areas, it found endearment in others. A relate-able story with as much room for interpretation as to the author's meaning and purpose as you choose to employ ... a chipped-tooth tale with callow emotion and truth.

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The Catcher In the Rye by Salinger

Posted : 3 years, 5 months ago on 30 July 2006 05:44 (A review of The Catcher in the Rye)

The masterpiece? The magnum opus? Whatever the hell you want to call this - it's got enough truth to drive some people insane. If you haven't read this, you're not a functioning member of society. But don't stop here, either - this is hardly the man's finest hour. Deeper, more beautiful words lie further into the Salinger collection...

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