Book review: The Catcher In the Rye

Usually, my policy is that I ONLY review- bookwise, at least- "classic" novels- you know, the all time greats, the legends- but I'm making an exception for The Catcher in the Rye, bu J.D. Salinger because of his death a couple days ago, which you probably heard about :C (Superfrown!) Besides, The Catcher in the Rye is one of the best kinds of classics- easily read and easily related to.





Title: The Catcher in the Rye
Author: J. D. Salinger
Publisher: (Paperback reprint) Back Bay Books, January 30th, 2001
Pages: 288 (Paperback Reprint)


What can I say about the Catcher In the Rye? I loved it and hated it when I read it about a year ago, and to this day I don't know what I think of it.

Characters: There are very few characters- really, only Holden and his little sister Phoebe immediately come to mind- but Holden was very well-developed. However, that doesn't mean he's a character you'll like at all- he's a true hypocrite, always calling people and things"phony" and "depressing", when that's exactly what he is, which his sister calls him on towards the end (I knew I liked that girl at the beginning of the book...). But I think that you weren't meant to like him- he shows the flaws of humanity, how judgemental and hypocritical we can be yet turn around and think we ourselves are flawless. I loved his little sister, though- she was such a good counterbalance to him, how she was so innocent, but so smart and had such interesting views to things.

Writing and plot: The plot is almost nonexistent, mainly consisting of Holden's rants, ramblings, whines, "observations', and various tangents. Being as that's the way I think and tend to write (of course I edit... 0_0) I didn't care too badly. However, most people will have a definite problem with that, as well as . If you like your books neat and organized, with a definite point, this probably isn't a book you'll like when your forced to read it in middle/high school, or college- if you haven't been already :P

Overall: While notfor everyone, it's definitely a YA novel deserving of praise, if only for how real Holden is, how closely linked his problems are to our own, and how his thoughs are so much like ours.

(I think it may be obvious why I don't review classics now- above my head :P)