The Catcher in the rye

trajan

Obviously, I'm the last person on planet earth to have read this but I was almsot wowed by it. I can reccommend it to anyone. It's got this slow sort of power which swells the further you read. I really thought it seemed pretty much run of the mill, without much happening, one of those books that were 'shocking' in the 40s but don't carry it now. It's not shocking in the least at this stage, of course, but the quality of the writing, the pacing and the humanity is a total sight to behold. A simple story of a young man during a brief but telling period of his life. I was really impressed.

Bucephalus

I think how you respond to this book relies a lot on how you respond to the character of the narrator, Holden Caulfield. I admit that I put the book down after slogging 2/3 to 3/4 of the way through it and realising that whatever other people were getting out of the book, I wasn't likely to get in the remainder of the book.

I felt like I was sitting in the window seat of a transaltlantic airliner having to listen to an obsessive who had no idea of how he bored people.

impr0v

If it the book has lost some effect I think its probably due to its own success. I re-read this recently as I was repeatedly coming across references to it in all kinds of places and since it had been 8 years or so since I first read it I couldn't remember what i thought of the book. I would be somewhere in between the two points of view above. I liked it, and in a way could see what the fuss was about, but I think the book suffers due to its style having been imitated, and at times improved upon, so often in modern literature, and other media also.

elbee

I loved it when I read it, simply because it was the first narrative I encountered that suggested it was normal or acceptable to hate school. Every narrative set in a school seemed to be idealised.

I am scared to re-read this one, in case I don't love it now that I'm all old and jaded and wise (um, 20).

If you liked Catcher, I strongly recommend Franny and Zooey, his next book.

SprostonGreen

I still havent read. During the BBC's "the Big Read" last year, Ruby Wax chose this as her favourite and reviewed.

Damn near told the whole story from what I remember, which leads me to think that I wont enjoy it.

krattapopov

your all killing me right now

Bungalow Bill

I loved this book and I read it over and over again. I just loved getting right inside the mind of this guy and he fascinated me. I admired his independence at the time I read it, and his imagination. I still can't put my finger on what separates it from other books I have read. It is my favourite book of all time. It was breifly replaced by 'The Da Vinci Code' but since I found out that the book is basically plagiarised and is all lies I have lost any respect for it.

The only thing I don't like about it is it's supposed effect on people. Especially hearing last week that Mark Chapman wasnted to kill John Lennon and others because they were 'phonies', and I think he had the book with him at the time he shot John Lennon.

callmescratch

i think that maybe liking catcher is a symptom of crazy homicidal tendencies (sp?) not a cause

egan007

Wait until you read it a second time!!!

shiv

Catcher is one of my all-time favourite best books, and the fact it's been tainted by the likes of a lunatic is disturbing but not off-putting. The first page, the first paragraph got me way back in high school, and the style of writing has stuck with me ever since. I've read some of Salinger's short stories and they are as brilliant as well, just about to read the Franny one. I would recommend this to anyone, I think it's funny as hell and deals with difficult subject matter in a darkly beautiful way. It's amazing how many times it's been referenced in pop culture--did anyone see The Good Girl with Jennifer Aniston, and Jake Gyllenhall (sp)'s character who took on Holden's name? I'm sure there's been a few attempts at making it into a movie, but I don't think it'd be in any way comparable to the effect of the book. Does anyone know if Jerome is still alive??

simu

shiv wrote:

Does anyone know if Jerome is still alive??

He is.

begbie

I haven't read it.

shiv

thanks simu

begbie, you should definitely read it, from the first page you're hooked..

begbie

shiv wrote:

thanks simu

begbie, you should definitely read it, from the first page you're hooked..

I may check it out then. Will try and get a copy next time i go to the library.

shiv

Good choice begbie!

Amnesiac_ie

I read this book for the first time this summer. (Commuting on the Tube in London lends itself very well to reading!) I thought it was a great book which I found hard to put down. I would agree that it has been imitated and drawn upon a lot in popular culture since ("Igby Goes Down" springing to mind immediately) but I still think it's a very enjoyable read. I wonder would men on the whole prefer it to women? It's very much a guy's book I think...

shiv

Hi Amnesiac ie, I don't know why the book would appeal to guys moreso than girls, for me it was very applicable or at least relatable to when I read it (which was in high school). I'm sure if I picked it up now, though, I would still see myself in the pages, especially when Holden talks about his family or the fakes of the world. I know there's parts of the book about hookers and the like, but I don't think the viewpoint or perspective is overly male, that it overpowers the whole narrative to put female readers off..