[Book] The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger - #6 in Fiction 📚
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger - Book Review
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The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Catcher in the Rye might seem, at first glance, like a simple story about a teenage boy, expelled from his fourth school in three years, deciding to skip out early and live it up in New York City for a few days. That’s the basic plot, in a nutshell. But dig a little deeper, and it becomes something much more—a powerful exploration of teenage angst, depression, and sharp social commentary.
Reading it again as an adult, I’ll admit, it’s not the kind of book that hits you immediately. It takes some time to process, to let it settle in before it really clicks. At first, as I was reading and right after I finished, I didn’t quite get it. But now, with some distance and time to reflect, it’s all come together. Still, if you asked me to sum up the message of the book, I’m not sure I could pinpoint it just yet. Maybe it just needs a bit more time to fully sink in.
That said, J.D. Salinger’s portrayal of Holden Caulfield is masterful. It takes real skill to make readers feel so strongly about a character—whether that feeling is love or hate. In fact, I wouldn’t be wrong to say Holden Caulfield might be one of the most polarizing characters ever created. And I think that’s exactly what makes the book brilliant. Along with its pitch-perfect representation of teenage frustration, it’s clear why Catcher in the Rye is a classic, one that’s found its place in high school curriculums and on lists like The 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die.
What’s funny is, despite how much people loathe Holden, I actually kind of liked him. He’s a smart-ass, funny, and many of his observations about the world are dead-on. I found myself agreeing with him a lot. There are plenty of “goddam lousy phonies” out there, and Holden has the guts to call them out, while most of us just keep quiet—partly out of self-preservation. Holden, however, was short on that instinct.
By the end of his wild adventure, Holden finds himself in a mental ward, and honestly, I wasn’t sure what had earned him that fate. Is being difficult and running off to figure yourself out really enough to get locked up? I think Holden did something a lot of people his age would love to do, but don’t—because of that self-preservation instinct. Hell, even as an adult, I sometimes wish I could do the same.
In the end, The Catcher in the Rye is a well-written exploration of teenage angst, self-discovery, and a deeply compelling character study. You might not like Holden Caulfield, but I think there’s a lot to learn from him, and the book is definitely worth reading.
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