- Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: Little, Brown and Company; 1st LB Books Mass Market Paperback Ed edition (1 May 1991)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0316769487
- ISBN-13: 978-0316769488
- Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 1.6 x 17.1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (372 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 199,667 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.com
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 sixteen-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 hemorrhages 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.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 --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
83 of 85 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A classic - it caught my eye!!,
By Al "AC" (UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Catcher in the Rye (Modern Classics) (Paperback)
Given this as a present from a friend, I felt obliged to read this alleged 'classic'. Initially, I felt burdened to read what the popular consensus deemed as a book to be remembered in the ages to come. The first few pages eased me in, with little event to give an impression of what the book would be like as a whole. But, with every paged turned, the book became so engrossing which lead to that 'don't want to eat, drink or sleep until I have finished this book' feeling. The book is short and thrives in its simplistic thought patterns of the narrator. Simplistic but actually with deep feeling and meaning. The book is simply fascinating, following the decisions and thoughts of a boy seeking fulfilment in his life away from school, having been expelled from school. J D Salinger style of writing is natural and fluid with great communication of a boy struggling with his insecurities, enjoying his objects of happiness and feeling around for a grasp of his own personality. It is a natural and, to a certain extent, slow moving and limited in spectacular and dramatic events. But, don't let this put you off, it is part of the purposeful magic that J D Salinger spills into this fantatic book. I can only recommend this book and praise it for what it is. Get reading it, even if its people telling you its good - because it is!
51 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cynical Adolescent, or Innocent In A Cynical World?,
By
This review is from: The Catcher in the Rye (Paperback)
This book has been challenged and banned in many places since its publication. It is amusing to think that, nowadays, as if it were given an age rating it would probably only get a PG, or a 12.
Critics have described Holden as a cynical teenager, but maybe we should reconsider that thought and turn it back on itself? Holden is an innocent, he can barely cope with the cynical world at all. He is so innocent and alone that he tries to get a prostitute to just chat and keep him company. He has been through some awful things, and he is desperately lonely. Nobody seems to notice he is falling apart, he is adrift in an uncaring world. The book is somewhat dated, but it is still something that teenagers could get a lot from. In fact, anybody who feels they can relate even a little to the protagonist should pick it up too. The lack of accountability by his teachers about his disappearance really do mark this as reaching out from an earlier era, as do things like the causal racial references. So why has a book which in many respects is outdated stayed as one of the major books set in English classes across the world? It must surely be the strength of emotion and the poignancy that shines through; Holden is still a character that can be identified with, even by todays adolescents. He is an exquistitely rendered character, and through his story you can learn a lot about yourself as well.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic literature,
By Redeye (England) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Catcher in the Rye (Paperback)
I've been promising myself to read this book for ages having noted references by other people and assumed there must be something special about it. I have just finished reading it and my assumption was correct. The adolescent Holden Caulfield reveals his thoughts and feelings, and I think we can all relate to these as he drifts into a nervous breakdown. His misadventures and mishaps are heart-wrenching as are his recollections of his late brother and his love for his younger sister. How times have changed from the post-war era that it's set in, he sets off on a suburban train into New York late at night and the mother of one his fellow students gets on alone! An absolute 'must' read.
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