The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye requires no introduction. To most people, that is. For me, however, it is one of those books that I had preconceptions in my head through secondarily absorbing hundreds of think pieces and Reddit analyses and word-of-mouth opinions beforehand, rather than having an organic view through reading the novel as a schoolkid (Of Mice and Men was my American lit childhood) or as an adult. These preconceptions constituted of the two prevailing opinions on this book online, the first of which is that Catcher, while being a regarded classic, was largely immature, best suited for teenagers, and its protagonist, Holden Caulfield, is a whiny, rich, entitled know-it-all who feels he is above the world. The second of which is that J.D. Salinger is actually representing very faithfully a child’s perspective on the world fuelled by trauma and grief, and the novel is a misinterpreted masterpiece. Before reading then, Catcher had this superposition of quality in my mind, both bad and good, and, loving a controversial read, I’m very happy to have picked this up myself and confirmed that it is, in fact, the latter.

Its premise is relatively straightforward. Holden Caulfield, a 17-year-old boy attending a private school, finds out he has flunked his classes and will soon be expelled. Not wanting to face the shame of his family, he goes to New York City to stay in a hotel and, essentially, falls into an alcohol-fuelled bender. Throughout this, he reminisces on his past, recounting various traumatic memories, including the recent death of his younger brother and the disillusionment that followed it, and his brief relationship with a girl for which he still has strong, romantic, protective feelings towards.

Catcher is told in first person in a very conversational, slang-heavy, diatribe-filled style which, once you've gotten into Holden Caulfield’s repetitive nature of storytelling, is such a pleasure and a breeze to read through. I've always been impressed by authors who intentionally limit their own form of expression by tying it into a narrator’s limited vocabulary, and yet still manage to pull off emotional and impactful storytelling. Indeed, Salinger does a lot with Holden’s unique narrative voice; with the narration following Holden’s stream-of-consciousness, we are witness to his live breakdowns, involuntary memories and, most importantly, his avoidance in discussing the crux of his breakdown, which is the great succession of traumatic experiences which he keeps bottled within him. In a book I read earlier this year, A Pale View of Hills, a similar avoidant narrative voice is used to sidestep potentially uncomfortable thoughts. Like I said in that review, it's the silence on certain topics that hits you hard, harder than if the actual events were described in full. 

The highlight of the novel for me was therefore how this repressed trauma is manifested both in Holden’s spiralling, psychosexual depravity and also his innocence-guarding protection role to the children in his life. Because although Salinger writes Holden as keeping his cards close to his chest when it comes to discussing his trauma (or, if you like, his kings in the back row), the abuse he has suffered presents in both his positive and destructive behaviours, giving us a very multifaceted exploration on the portrayal of trauma. And even the titular Catcher in the Rye metaphor, in which Holden sees himself as a saviour of wayward children, is this not just a grand pursuit to save others in the way he’d wish to be saved. To control and preserve his and other children's innocence forever?

Outside of this serious subject matter lurking subconsciously within the story, Holden’s general observations about the world can at points be genuinely funny. I like to mention when a book is funny because although comedy requires just as much of a command of language than writing lyrical and aesthetic prose, authors who are funny do not get their equivalent share of credit. Salinger writes Holden’s narration like a stand-up comedy routine at points, and reading his inane Seinfeld-esque comments on how some people are so boring but you should keep them around because they can be really good whistlers, or how nobody ever sends your regards when you tell them to, or how some people are terrible dancers—all of these little comments made the book a lot more entertaining, and served to heighten the tragic elements lurking beneath, like the clown Pagliacci telling all of his jokes. 

In terms of the criticisms I had read going into the book, I have therefore found them completely unfounded. The trauma-based reading aside, I am not sure that Holden is ‘whiny’ at all. I am not sure anyone should ‘grow out’ of a general disdain for the inauthenticity of the world. A distaste of authority, a skepticism of social systems, a willingness to look life in the eye and identify and feel its latent absurd melancholy—why are these characteristics associated with the naivety of youth? Why should we expect to coagulate and mold ourselves into a chronic passivity? The Catcher in the Rye is a book that calls out ‘phony’ systems from the perspective of a child, but it is not a story told by a child, it is a story told by the adult Salinger, who experienced first hand the horrors of World War II, and uses Holden as a metaphor for innocence lost. The issues then are still the same today. And in this world of death, grief, and atrocity, I think we should all tap into our inner Holden Caulfield and continue to rage against the phony system, and continue to protect the innocence of the children who are its victims.

Sjecala sam se da sam bila zaljubljena u Holdena nakon sta sam prvi put procitala ovu knjigu, sta je to bilo, prvi srednje. Nisam se sjecala ista od same knjige. Malo sam sokirana haha, Holden je uzasno egocentrican i teski hejter. Ali voli djecu i iskljucivo kroz to pokazuje neku svoju ljudskost i ljubav. Vidim Filipa u njemu, koji oduvijek pokusava pobjeci od samog sebe i "societyja" i omg koliko telling. Materijal za razgovor kod psihologa.

it's hard to enjoy a book that is nothing but rambling of the main character when you can't stand the main character

Si sos hombre y te gusta Holden sos un caprichoso

Idk why but the way this book was written kept me hooked in the beginning. Then it felt sort of aimless. But I got the idea. It's actually kind of inspiring, especially as a kid who is gonna go to college. I can see people finding a kindred spirit in this guy. It's a good book.

i see a lot of people seem to have appreciated this far more as adolescents than adults. i see why, though i'm pretty sure at sixteen i'd have probably hated holden caulfield even more, though in a funny sort of way (i think we should all admit he gets pretty funny sometimes). this is certainly an interesting book, and it deserves its place among the classics, and in addition j.d. salinger had the wisdom to make it short, because i don't think i could've taken more of holden's teenage angst, honestly.

holden caulfield; a bunch of radiohead songs glued together

Toller Klassiker, kann ich jedem ans Herz legen. Nette Lektüre für nebenbei.

The protagonist’s pretty dumb, I like him cause he reminds me of myself

i kept waiting for something to happen but nothing happened

You can ramble on as long as you’d like, when you write like that 🌹

I read this in one sitting maybe not the best book but I really enjoyed this and didn't expect to find so much comfort in

fun read, sometimes i think i kin him in a way of impulsiveness.

I read this book over a span of a few months. Yes. Months. I was terribly busy with my courses, and my brain didn't have the energy to stay focused for too long on a page. I reread countless times, and dozed off often. But, yet, this book left a lasting impression on me. Perhaps I loved this novel so much because Holden and I shared similar qualities, or perhaps I was just in the cynical phase of my life, and spent too much time watching Daria. Though, what I know for certain is that this piece of literature resonated with me deeply. And I'm glad I did not have to read it for class - because that would ruin its magic. If you're looking for motivation to read this book, I would say just go for it. It's not too long, and it won't disappoint. Whether you like it or not depends on your experiences, your beliefs, and where you are in life. But if you're willing to put up with a person unlike yourself, and understand even the most absurd of their being, then this is for you. To delve into the life of a conflicted affluent teenage boy from New York during the 50s' is a wild ride, and yet one that goes by slowly but surely. I'm not sure if I'm just a loser, but to me, Holden seemed like a realistic portrayal of a certain type of teenage-hood. Failing but with everything at your fingertips (for contemporary examples: internet access, free tutoring, etc). Angry at the world, but being privileged (think: having a decent amount of security, or the mentioning by elders of 'people having it worse'). Depressed, but without a glimpse of a reason. This book, for me, was great. It satiated and validated my cruelest and most cynical thoughts and feelings. But, it's definitely not for everyone.

Worst classic i ever read. It feels so American i want to cry. I kept reading it in this STRONG Southern accent for some reason. The main character is a whiny frat boy that is disappointed and feels excluded. Your private school didn't want your lazy ass?? :(Cry me a river. It was the 60's, your mother probably got tired to fake a smile for you everyday, she had your father to fake other things for.

It was sort of repetitive and vague, but towards the end it go really good ! It does capture being a teenager without glorifying it.

If I could have, I would have given it a 3.5/5, might even consider it a 3, but JD Salinger was definitely ahead of his time. He ate toward the end. Holden is one annoying ass teenager, but it was really nice to see how much he softened and became playful around his sister. Nice slice of life read. Also quite hilarious. I’m also curious how many days this took place because wow what an adventure, lol. A whole movie, really. IYKYK. I think I read somewhere that this was a difficult read? Maybe because the language usage is a bit archaic, but I understood it fine. Interesting, actually. OH. I know why I gave it the fourth star— the character descriptions? Setting descriptions? 10/10. Absolutely fantastic. Just excellent. Like, now I know why they tell you to read if you wanna be able to write, lol.

"I thought what I'd do was, I'd pretend I was one of those deaf-mutes." (p. 198). That quote is why I finally decided I wanted to read the book. It shows up in The Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex series. My husband had read the book and said I should read it too so when the opportunity presented itself to me, I had to. Now having read the book I see much more of the of it in the series than just this short quote used by the Laughing Man. Beyond inspiring an arc plot in an animae series, Catcher in the Rye seems to be the book that so many recent first person rambling books with teenage male protagonists spring from. The book reminds me a great deal of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time though better written. There's also a bit of Everything is Illuminated as well but again, much better written.

LIBRAZO

exactly captures an insufferable teenage boy

I heard this book is a red flag so I knew it was a must read hahshsh and i’m sorry but I enjoyed it a lot and i can tell you that Holden is just like me. No but really this was really enjoyable and I found him to be a complex and misunderstood character, the way he expressed and pushes away his feelings and concerns makes me really emotional.

I  cried and laughed a lot, i’m happy and sad tbh.

My experience with this book has been quite singular. I read it for the first time during my angsty early teenage years -and felt utterly disappointed. I thought it wasn't anywhere near what I had heard it to be. There is my first mistake: I stupidly built up expectations in a complete wrong direction, because I believed what others told of it (which I later discovered to be utterly wrong, they just didn't pay any attention). My second mistake I guess, was that I read it in my native language, Spanish. I don't think there's a way to convert Holden's personality correctly by means of a translation. I'm simply not sure there's a way to do it. Anyway, after all these years I begin to comprehend the fuzz. After all these years, much older, much more mature, I can relate a whole lot more to Caulfield than I did when I was supposed to. It brought me back to the times when I was still absolutely clueless about myself, but shedding light to it. I thought, 'now I get it'. And indeed I do. Both the book and myself.

Ok goodreads app crashed as I was in the midst of writing my glowing review for this book… so i’m keeping it short this time. 4.5 stars This book is about grief! I laughed and I cried. absolutely perfect depiction of what it feels like to grow up, and it all happens in the subtext. masterful I am 100% a Holden Caulfield Defender. He is the perfect adolescent. One of the best written characters of all time tbh. he’s so annoying, I love him

It was fine! I’ve heard so much about how this man sucks and all that so I was expecting a true villain and he was really just some dude. Something in me loves reading about evil evil people so my hopes were high! Idk I get it’s from a teenage boy perspective so ya makes sense why it was written like this but I assumed it was written like a pretentious classic, and me who loves a pretentious classic was highly thrown off by all the goddams and such! But I did enjoy her, she is interesting and I love a character study, I feel like it’s bad to say I wish he was more evil but I wish he was more evil, commit!!!