 2008-11-17 - If You Really Want to Hear About It...
First off, I don't understand why there's so much hate around this novel. I'd say it's one of the best pieces of American literature I have ever read. The reader's brief journey through Holden's transition from the innocent over to the "perverted" adult world. From Holden's encounter with the water-spitting perverts to Holden's date with Sally in New York, the Catcher in the Rye is a great example of what the teenage years are like. This excellent novel is one that I truly related to, being a teenager experiencing some of the same feelings that Holden feels. While I don't know what it feels like to lose a loved one like Holden does, I understand how he feels about sexuality and that struggle to maintain what is innocent in the world, and I even could experience some of what it would feel like to lose a loved one through Holden's touching rhetoric in the novel. Some people might be offended by Holden's swearing, but I believe it helps us see more eye-to-eye to Holden. If the novel was written in a more articulate manner, the theme of the struggle for communication would be harder to convey. Furthermore, we relate more with him and feel like he is one of us. In several points of the novel, I felt myself laughing when funny parts happened and crying when sad parts occurred. The Catcher in the Rye is a touching novel that every teenager should read in order to preserve his character, something Holden would be very proud of.
Evan
P.S. I'm "Holden" on to my past as well...I think I belong in a mental instution and need to be psychoanalyzed. I came to that realization after reading this novel haha =]
 2008-11-12 - Disillusion
The Catcher in the Rye / 0-316-76948-7
There's not much to be said about Salinger's classic that hasn't already been said. The intense pain and longing of adolescence is tangible here - along with the impossible, conflicting desires that rage through these troubled years. Like any other boy his age, Holden longs for immediately available sex, but he cannot reconcile this longing with his emotional need for love and intimacy. Like so many of his peers, Holden yearns for adulthood and maturity and independence yet feels the pangs of sadness that come with the loss of innocence. He knows, instinctively, that his own innocence is already lost, but wishes, somehow, to slow the loss of innocence for those he loves - those people in his life whom he deems (as the highest compliment an adolescent can give) to be not phony.
2008-11-11 - review
my wife and mom have read it, i'm next.
they liked it, except for all the curse wods
 2008-11-11 - Thankfully, not all teens are like this one
To the book's credit, it did keep my attention, and parts of it were pretty funny. This isn't a poorly written book by any stretch of the imagination. My problem stems from the fact that you have to deal with the spoiled complaining of a teen who probably didn't get beat up enough in school. I understand the awkwardness of being a teen, but a couple hundred pages of listening to a jerk complain about "phonies" was more than enough for me.
2008-11-10 - Make a little time for a classic
So I've been on a "classic book" kick, deciding that with all of the reading I do, I should try to work in more well-known literary novels. The ones I should have been reading in HS or college. Catcher in the Rye was on my list this month.
Interesting book...although not my favorite of all the "classics" I've read, it definitely left an impression. Amazing descriptives and it really puts you in the mindset of Holden Caulfield. And you might be shocked at what you feel/think about. It's easy to slip into this character and get lost in how he is feeling and who he is and what he's dealing with. A close look at a hard life. For those merits alone it's worthy of a Pulitzer in my opinion. (Although it notoriously did not win one.)
It's an easy read, nothing to be intimidated by, and it's short at only 250 pages. What do you have to lose? I'd recommend it.
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