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Loading... The Catcher in the Rye (1951)by J. D. Salinger
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Representation: Minor Asian character Trigger warnings: Smoking, alcohol use, gun violence, racism, racist slurs, suicidal thoughts and suicide mentioned, emesis Score: Seven points out of ten. Find this review on The StoryGraph. 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. 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. 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:
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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. ( )