Book 15: Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

This is a book that has been on my reading list for a long time.  People love this book and Holden Caulfield is referenced so often that I needed to see what it was all about.


My honest opinion on the book...  When I finished it I was wondering what the big deal was about the book.  I didn't like the voice of Holden.  I did not care for all the "goddamns" that was sprinkled throughout the book.  Yes I get he is a 16 year old boy and that is how he speaks, I just found it distracting.  Also, I kept wondering if there was going to be an event that happened.  But nothing "big" emerged.  I knew going in that Holden was an anti-hero and not one that you can really care about.  I am not adverse to that kind of character, as Fitzgerald has many of them, and in the end they are much more real.

I finished the book and then went to bed.   In the morning I was able to appreciate the book more.  It being a story of not wanting to grow up.  How Holden kept referring to his sister and and how important she was to him.  How he was lost in the big city and was not able to grab hold and right himself. 

I think in the end I like the book, but I don't know if I would read it again.  I like the meaning of the story but the writing, like I said, was a distraction.  I can see why this book resonates with teenagers.  I like that they can see that literature does not have to be all fancy writing, but it can use language that they use, in the end it is the story and the message they are trying to convey.