Catcher in the Rye

What is your opinion, /book/?

Never read it, but in concept, it sounds like the worst book ever written. Seriously.

/book/ hates any literary work that's popular. As a high school student, i enjoyed it very much, but as i got older Holden seemed to have a childish grasp on life. anyway its worth reading once.

didnt like it

It's only known because it was banned and two people claimed that it drove them to murder.
The book was fine, not boring but not that interesting.

>>3
>Holden seemed to have a childish grasp on life
Er, isn't that the point?

i thought it was a good read. it used to be overrated for real, but i think nowadays the idea that it's overrated has reached such a level of saturation that it really doesn't get a fair chance. it doesn't suck nor is it bad nor is there a real reason to hate it with a passion. i support it being in the high school curriculum.

that being said, i read it when i was in high school because someone told me i was like holden. gotta say after reading the book that offended me a bit, haha.

>>6
Yes, it is.
The image of the catcher in the rye symbolize Holden wanting to still be a kid- playing chase in the rye. And he want to save the children from falling into clif: which, for some reason, means he fears becoming an adult. This fear was created because of the death of his brother at a young age.

Catcher in the Rye is a good book. It's well written and easy to read.

But I can't say it lives up to its lofty title. Hype kills everything.

But if you don't expect the greatest novel ever written, then you should read it at least once. It's entertaining enough.

Catcher in the Rye is great, up until you run into douches that think they need to pick this book apart and analyze it from a Freudian, feminist, communist perspective. 
Its a great book if you have never heard of it. I found it in my brother's room when I was younger, read it and loved it.

I think it's okay. Not a terrible book, but a bit overrated. Holden makes me rage, which I know is the entire point, but it makes the book painful to read.

I was unsure after I read it. I think that because of the hype i expected something incredibly epic to happen. Really, not much does, and I realise that is the point, Holden is a child that fears growing up and is somewhat self destructive because of that.

In retrospect I liked it more than I thought I did after I finished it.

>>10
How does analyzing a book makes a person a douche? What's wrong about readers who have a different interpretation than you?

I liked it quite a bit as an angsty 12-year-old. And of course, in retrospect, I can see what point the author was trying to put across. Of course Holden is a whiny kid, all teenagers are.

Actually, i love it.

I remember in High School, i used to struggle during my Freshman Year. The same year i was introduced to the Catcher in the Rye. i used to struggle in my damn literature or english class. i didnt care about school really.
anyways, it was the only book i loved during high school.

Now i ordered it 2 days ago and today it arrived. i am actually eating the book alive. I read 12 chapters and i am going to be finish by tomorrow.

Call me crazy or a even a faggot but i just loved the way its written. I am talking about the simplified (well now, back in freshman year i came out from ESL and was struggling with the English language) way that the book is written.
Sure Holden seems to be a whiny bastard and calls everyone a phony but that is the magic of the book. Holden is a depressed character like someone up top said.

just of curiosity, any other recommendations on books like this one? i mean a book written or being told by a depressed character or something like that?

i really want to write a book like the Catcher in the Rye and have you fags criticize it to end but i cant since i am not much of a litfag..
i could only wish...

Catcher in the Rye is definitely an easy book to read. Well-written, but simplified. I love authors like Pynchon and Wolfe, but their prose is much more dense. Catcher in the Rye is something you can consume in a day or two and not because it's so short. It's just fast reading. And entertaining.

I first read it when I was the same age as Holden so I easily identified with the character and instantly loved the book. I laughed every other minute while read it

Somewhat interesting and funny the first time I read it. Not so much any other time.

hated it. And Holden is probably gay no one ever mentions that

>>19
why would he be gay? he gets freaked out and runs away when the gay man flirts with him. Plus he flirts with all the girls and trys to buy a protistute but he gets scared because he is a kid and...oh wait you're trolling, you got me

>>20
Mr Antolini was NOT gay.

Holden was confused. When Mr Antolini started patting him in the head, like a father on his sleeping child, Holden , woke up and took it serious. He though Mr Antolini was making a move on him when in fact he wasnt. He later revealed that he hated that head-patting as a kid and never liked it and started even doubting of calling Mr Antolini a "flint" and he wanted to come back to his house.
 
Mr Antolini knows what is going through Holdens Head so he just want Holden to be safe on his house. Remember the words or quotes he told Holden the night before about maturity? Mr Antolini was ,in a way, a school counselor or some sort of psychoanlysists (bah, what do i know?) or psychiatrist...

>>20

No I wasn't trolling. Its been over ten years since I read the book so I can't cite specific things, I just remember thinking that his homophobic reaction to some situations and how dirty he thinks sex is both suggested homosexuality. Thats common among homos that equate their own deviant sexuality with the whole of sexuality and thats what Salinger was trying to convey.

It was an important read for me. I had a pretty shitty time of things the year after high school and I could identify with the confusion, frustration, alienation and madness Holden experiences.
Even if the circumstances of your life aren't comparable to the work, it's still a worthwhile read because the narrative is a convincing representation of that state of mind.

I have this book idea where Holden Caulfield pilots a giant robot called the Catcher and fights against an alien race called the Phonies so he can save the children of the world, only to find out in the end, "No Holden, you are the phony". It's a pretty shitty idea but it's at least better than the plot Catcher in the Rye already has.

He already know he is a phony, he said he's "the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life".