"Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around - nobody big, I mean - except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff (...)"
J. D. Salinger is an American novelist and best known for this very book, The Catcher in the Rye, which is considered a classic of USA's literature, being in Times list of 100 best books since 1923.
This book tells a rather uninteresting story of this sixteen-year-old character Holden Caulfield and his wanders through New York for a couple days, after his expulsion from his boarding school, exposing the real face of teenager's life, in which the main character is also the narrator. What is perhaps more interesting is that he has such a depressed and lonely way of life that it is almost impossible not to have anything in common with this global character, who is supposed to represent the transition from childhood to adult life.
When I started reading this book, I found out that I was addicted to it, even though it had no plot at all. It really doesn't, it's just a dude telling about his life. But it is Holden who you are actually reading. I have never read, in my whole life, such a descriptive and well-developed character. You actually feel that you are reading a teenager's book who has failed in about four schools, not an intellectual like J. D. Salinger. That's probably why the book is so addictive: it's a clean and straightforward writing, which makes it feel real, a very real account. I do have a lot against writers and philosophers who are claimed to be wonderful and swell, but they can't write clearly such as Salinger does. This book may be read by anyone - in fact, it is aimed to teenagers and I do recommend them to read - and anyone who reads this book will understand what it is talking about. Some of them may not like, but they will surely get the least of it.
Holden Caulfield is this teenager that wanders around New York and lives a very teenager life - don't forget this book was written in the 50's - and finds himself in the transition from child to adulthood; facing problems like an adult - and that's probably why Salinger set him alone in NY - but still with a mind of a kid. While he tries to evolve, starts to find out that everybody looks fake and lousy, but he turns out to be a complete hypocrite, which is probably the main purpose of the book.
The title deserves five stars just for itself. Although you read the book until about the middle without getting where the author is trying to get you to, when Holden hears a little boy singing this song about a catcher in the rye - which he actually misspelled -, everything starts making sense. Holden flies through the book trying to find a shoulder to lean on, someone that will hold him while he's passing through his puberty, sexual life and depressing times of adolescence; and that's what he searches, even unaware of what's actually happening.
While he's not getting anything that's valuable from his current relationships - which are represented by his Pencey school and his friends in there -, he goes way back to the innocence of childhood and brings back his old memories and relationships in attempt to survive the hard times that is entering the adulthood. But when he actually gets to those memories, he is not a kid anymore and his mind has changed. In this quest of finding "a catcher in the rye", Holden even unburies his dead brother Allie and contacts people who are still in their innocent times - such as his sister - and people who are really in the adulthood, like his old teachers.
This transition is easily seen in every sense. From trying to drink being a minor to a massive change of his views on the world, contrasted by what he remembered things to be and what they really are right now. I highly recommend this book to anyone. This is surely one of the best - if not the best - novels I have ever read in my entire life. Although aimed to teenagers, this story is surely universal.
100/100
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Follow the author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.
Frequently bought together
This item: The Catcher in the Rye
$7.03
In Stock
+
+
Total price: $00
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Choose items to buy together.
More items to explore
Page 1 of 1 Start over
- Inherit the Wind: The Powerful Drama of the Greatest Courtroom Clash of the CenturyMass Market Paperback$12.41 shipping
Popular Highlights in this book
Almost every time somebody gives me a present, it ends up making me sad.Highlighted by 2,725 Kindle readers- “Life is a game, boy. Life is a game that one plays according to the rules.”Highlighted by 2,542 Kindle readers
- Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.Highlighted by 2,290 Kindle readers
About the author
Top reviews from the United States
There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2011
- Reviewed in the United States on July 23, 2025
Excellent Book, this book is my favorite of all time!
Images in this review
Top reviews from other countries
-
- valleReviewed in Sweden on February 27, 2024
The Catcher in the Rye
It's as advertised. I have also attached pictures of how the book looks without the cover for those interested.valleThe Catcher in the Rye
Reviewed in Sweden on February 27, 2024
Images in this review
-
CustomerReviewed in Brazil on March 6, 2021
Genial!
Holden Caulfield é um menino de 16 anos em um colégio interno na Pensilvânia. Quando ele é expulso, decide fugir do colégio uma semana antes do semestre acabar, e pega uma viagem de trem até Nova York, onde ele mora, mas não volta para casa; com medo da bronca dos pais, ele decide passar a semana perambulando pelas ruas da cidade, até que a escola mandaria uma carta de expulsão e os pais descobririam de uma forma ou de outra.CustomerGenial!
Reviewed in Brazil on March 6, 2021
Livro incrível! É super fácil de ler, com uma liguagem bem simples, por ser narrado pelo próprio Holden, um adolescente muito espertinho e sarcástico com um dom perfeito para se meter em problema! O livro me cativou tanto que, às vezes, até pareceu que era uma carta escrita do Holden para mim! kkkk
Quanto a qualidade do produto em si, chegou tudo certinho. Ele é muito parecido com a maioria dos livros de bolso que eu já tive; simples, de papel jornal, e sem orelhas.
Images in this review
-
