Why I love it: I know most parents shudder when you bring up this book but honestly, this is a must-read for all high-school kids. I read it when I was sixteen and I was a lonely, depressed girl. I was bullied at school and found solace and companionship with Holden. I mean, he talked about the same things I was feeling at the time. Not that I wanted to commit suicide but that life was complicated and I wanted to escape. Holden taught me it was okay to not be happy all the time. He also brought out the poet in me, which I will always be thankful. See, teens just want to know that what they’re feeling is okay, even if it is dark. The point is to not act on the feelings to the point of suicide. I will always be indebted to Salinger for crafting such a complex character.

My Rating: 5 stars

#BannedBooksWeek

راجع به کتاب، خیلی گفته شده و به نظرم حرفش این قدر رو هست که اصلاً نیازی به توضیح دادن نداره، خصوصاً برای کسایی که خودشون یا اطرافیانشون تجربیاتی مشابه هولدن داشته باشن.

نکته ی اولی که به نظرم میرسه، اینه که شخصیت هولدن، اصلا و ابدا دوست داشتنی نیست و قرار نیست دوست داشتنی باشه. چرا، از لحاظ صادق بودنش دوست داشتنیه. مثل خیلی از اطرافیاش، ادای خوب بودن یا بد بودن در نمیاره. میخواد به چیزی برسه، هر چند خودش هم نمی دونه چی.
ولی غیر از این، شخصیت هولدن کسیه که اگه یه روز توی خیابون ببینمش، با مشت میزنم توی صورتش. و اگه کسی هم به خاطر شبیه هولدن بودن با مشت بزنه توی صورت من، بهش کاملاً حق میدم.
فکر کنم مشابه این شخصیت رو بشه توی رمان "پدران و پسران" تورگنیف پیدا کرد.

نکته ی دوم هم توضیح شخصیت هولدنه. هولدن از دنیایی که میشناسه بیزاره. از معلما، از رفقاش، از مدرسه ش، از والدینش، از همه چیز بیزاره. دایره ی نفرتش به قدری بزرگ و بزرگ تر میشه که وقتی خواهرش ازش میپرسه توی این دنیا چیزی هست که ازش بیزار نباشی؟ هولدن شدیداً توی فکر میره و نهایتاً جوابی که میده، صرفاً و صرفاً یک ایده آله. یه رؤیاست.
من فکر میکنم که اگه این رؤیا هم یه روز محقق بشه، باز هولدن ازش بیزار خواهد بود. همون طور که تا وقتی که خواهر کوچکش رو ندیده بود، با خودش فکر میکرد که از بین تمام دنیا، فقط خواهرش رو دوست داره، ولی همین که شبانه دیدش و باهاش صحبت کرد، احساس کرد داره ازش بیزار میشه.
فکر میکنم مشکل هولدن، بیشتر از اون که با جهان اطرافش باشه، در درون خودشه. در نحوه ی نگاهش به جهان اطرافشه. اما این مشکل درونی چیه؟ و راه درمانش چیه؟ نه کتاب بهش اشاره ای میکنه و نه من اطلاعی دارم.

Título original: The Catcher in the Rye

Holden Caulfield, Rebel Without a Cause

Um fantástico estudo da adolescência. Holden Caulfield representa as obsessões e preocupações da juventude norte-americana da época, mantendo uma actualidade notável. Não encaixa em lado nenhum, mas tenta exprimir o que sente e construir uma realidade para a sua vida, e, pese embora todos os seus defeitos, é um ser humano que me cativou. Melancólico, cínico, e muitas vezes autodestrutivo a sua vulnerabilidade emocional e a sua busca pela verdade tornam-no um anti-herói adolescente icónico.

Most novels are written to be enjoyable. "The Catcher in the Rye" I feel, was written to be more thought-provoking than enjoyable. Its sole purpose is to put the world into a different perspective for the reader, or else support their perspective if they have a similar outlook as the protagonist Holden Caulfield. Anyone who goes through phases of detachment will relate to this book easily. Anyone who generally finds themselves content with the world we live in will not discern any value in this novel without being open-minded to the opinions of people who see the world from a less admirable point of view. I think that is the best explanation I can offer as to why some people really feel for this book and others don't.

Sixteen year old Holden Caulfield has just been expelled from school for the umpteenth time. After leaving the school premises he travels straight to a nearby hostel where he plans to stay for a few days so that he is not at home when his parents receive the news of his expulsion. Living alone in the city for a couple of days leaves Holden to seek weird encounters with strangers and old friends. As well as wandering aimlessly around the city for days, Holden is contemplating the people who have left a mark on him so far in his life, while also pondering his loathing for superficial and pretentious things that people do for popularity and success. The young man is at a point where he is questioning the purpose and sincerity of everything to the extent where it is wearing his interest to participate in life.

I think why 'The Catcher in the Rye' has been so successful over the past several decades is because of its interesting depiction of issues that only concern us as we get older. Although I wasn't alive in the 1950s, I feel like this book was ahead of its time, as it swerved from traditional themes and methods of storytelling, giving it a modernist air and therefore contributing to its success for being alternative. As for the controversy, that may be due to its underlying message that cynicism holds more truth than optimism.

Re reading this purely for the nostalgia purposes.

Plus, it’s my first time trying it in English.
I don’t know how I feel about getting reacquainted with Holden in English...

If Holden weren't a teenager but a middle-aged man instead, he'd be incredibly annoying. The protagonist of this book The Catcher in the Rye finds everything annoying. He hates school, his classmates, his parents. He even hates people who say "Good luck" or "Nice to meet you," and those who clap at piano performances. He despises all subjects except writing. A person who can't even find joy in learning can be quite tiresome.

The key is that his suffering doesn't have any "social roots." Living in his era and country, he can't complain about a "despotic society that distorts human nature" or "stupid exam-oriented education." He just nitpicks at trivial things in a trivial manner.

But all this whining can be excused and even celebrated under the banner of an "innocent youth rebelling against oppressive social order." It's said that many American teenagers later deliberately imitated Holden - because he's a teenager. Under the cover of youth, decadence becomes courage, laziness becomes rebellion, and emptiness becomes sexy. There was even a term for this kind of literary work for a while, called "brutal youth." There’s nothing more shameless than that term: what is brutal youth? Is old age not brutal? Brutal enough that people don't even care about its brutality. Is childhood not brutal? Brutal enough that children can't express its brutality. Not to mention the unlucky middle age, brutal enough that everyone's brutality is blamed on it. So when it comes to brutality, youth is far from being the most tragic, it can hardly be compared.

But maybe this book is more than just a novel about youth. It's about a person who, after seeing through the inevitable failure of life, tries to convince himself to patiently complete this failure. In the novel, Holden, a high school student, thinks: Why study hard? To become smart. Why become smart? To get a good job. Why get a good job? To buy a Cadillac. Why buy a Cadillac? Who knows.

Of course, he could pursue other things: knowledge, literature, music, talking to someone he loves while sitting by the bed, and thinking about "where the ducks in Central Park go in winter." But pursuing these would take him away from anger, and anger - only anger - is the quickest way to perceive oneself.

In fact, if you think about it, the "society" Holden faces isn't that awful. Whether it's his roommate, girlfriend, or teachers, they don't seem to be dark forces, just a bunch of "not good, not bad" people. If JD Salinger wrote them in the first person, it might be the same story. But perhaps the worst thing about this society is that it isn't even that bad - these not good, not bad people, with their mediocrity, ruthlessly strip Holden of his right to be angry, and anger - at least anger - is the quickest way for a person to perceive themselves.

The world is full of Holdens. Holden at 16, Holden at 30, Holden at 60. They see through the mediocrity of the world but can't surpass it. They can't become "me" but disdain becoming "them." They feel pain, but even that pain is mediocre - how many people see through the emptiness of life and feel anger, yet this anger is no longer enough to be unique or comforting. In fact, ever since anger became fashionable, it has become somewhat despicable.

So the biggest paradox of this novel is escape. On one hand, Holden wants to escape to the West, pretend to be deaf-mute, and live out his life; on the other hand, he wants to be a "catcher in the rye," stopping children from falling into the void. The most moving part in the novel isn't the classic conversation about the "catcher in the rye," but this, I feel: After 2 days of wandering, Holden is exhausted, and every step he takes while crossing the street feels like sinking infinitely. Then he thinks of his deceased brother Allie. He says in his heart: Dear Allie, don't let me disappear, don't let me disappear, please don't let me disappear.

I think Holden might not really be angry; he's just afraid. He's just afraid of his empty life, and out of pride, we always express fear as arrogance. He still loves novels, he still loves music, he still loves the smile on his little sister Phoebe's face. In the end, he doesn't go to the West, perhaps not out of weakness, but because even in the West, he'd still need to find a job, go to the supermarket to buy cheap potatoes, and be surrounded by countless people saying "Nice to meet you" and "Good luck." Instead of seeking freedom that doesn't exist far away, it's better to find something to look forward to in life - novels, music, and his sister's smile. Cherish the time that accidentally falls into your hands, and when that destined failure comes from down the tracks, close your eyes, and disappear cleanly and decisively.

5 / 5 stars

Often touted as a coming-of-age book, I beg to differ. This book is about struggling with grief and loss.

After suffering two tragedies, Holden is disoriented and searching for purchase. While Holden is desperately crying out for help, the adults in his life consistently fail him. Holden wants to preserve the innocence of children—something no one has done for him. And his kid sister Phoebe seems to provide the foundation which Holden so urgently needs.

While The Catcher in the Rye is too character driven for my taste, as a more sophisticated reader, I have a deeper appreciation for some of its subtleties—the glory is in the details. For example, F. Scott Fitzgerald heavily influenced Salinger. There are numerous nods to Fitzgerald throughout the work—The Great Gatsby is even mentioned by name, and some of Fitzgerald’s vocabulary has slipped into this novel. In Chapter 10, Holden goes to The Lavendar Room. As a parallel, Mrytle selects a lavender taxicab in The Great Gatsby. When was the last time you used the word “lavender”? It isn’t a word that is used particularly often, or should I “snobbishly” say “frequently” or would that cause me to be a “bore”? (Yes, all of these “words” were used in both The Great Gatsby and The Catcher in the Rye)

Further, when Holden talks about going to the museum, he notes that everything is the same, “the only thing that would be different would be you.” This is an original take on an old transcendentalist idea. In the conclusion of Walden, my good friend, Henry David Thoreau states, “Things do not change; we change.”

When I am a professor at Yale, I will allow my students to write papers on transcendentalism in The Catcher in the Rye.

Another quote from Walden: “The philosopher is in advance of his age even in the outward form of his life. He is not fed, sheltered, clothed, warmed like his contemporaries.”

In The Catcher in the Rye, while Holden is contemplating the universe, he is living a countercultural experience, rejecting the norms of his peers. He certainly isn’t eating his sack lunch at his desk.

The Green Light at the End of the Dock (How much I spent):
Hardcover Text – $89.40 for a 2010 Boxed Set of Hardcover Salinger Books on Mercari
Softcover Text - Origin Unknown, have had this book for quite a long time

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One of my new favorites! I had absolutely no idea what this book is about when I started started reading it, so I am more than pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed and loved it. However, it is also one of those books where I totally understand when someone hates everything about it.

I found the writing unexpectedly contemporary. If I wouldn't have known when the story was written, I would have guessed it only came out in the past couple of decades. So if the reason you haven't picked up this book is that you're afraid of having trouble with the obsolete words that are generally used in classics - don't worry, you'll be fine!

There are many repetitive phrases, and I can totally understand why someone might find this annoying, but I personally really like things like that in books. I actually made it my mission to highlight every single line where the main character Holden mentions that "something killed him", he's feeling depressed/nervous/etc, something/someone is mad/a madman, something is (according to him) only "sort of" happening, something is relating to death in some way, and a couple of other little things...Boy, was I busy! There is something marked on every.single.page!
So if you're someone that doesn't like repetition...yeah, it's save to say this book probably isn't for you.

Now, while we're on the topic of Holden: I'm sure he is one of the most hated characters of all time, because I see and hear countless of people talking about how pretentious and irritating he is. I also understand those opinions, but I just absolutely fell in love with him!
The reason for that is easy to find: I relate to him. I understand this anger and frustration at everything and everyone. I understand feeling like no matter what good happens to you, it just isn't enough and you still end up feeling lost and alone.
If I had read this book a couple of years ago, I would have thought that Holden is pretty much a male version of me, and I would have thrown it in the faces of everybody who was helplessly trying to understand me. Thankfully, I have now moved passed this stage, and I can look at him and his (or more so: our previously shared) view of the world a bit more critically. But reading the book at the stage of my life were I am now, it also showed me that it's still far to easy for me to relate to and sympathize with characters like Holden. It made me realize that I've still got a long way to go. My ambition is to reread this book in ten years or so and only feel connected to Holden in a distant and long-passed way.

Lastly, I'd like to mention that is a 100% character-driven book. There is only a very small amount of plot (and that small amount is rather generic). This is more of a character study, so if you're looking for a exciting tale filled with action and adventure - this is not the book for you.

Okay. So it's like this. My not-just-GR-friend-but-very-real-friend brian called and told me that J.D. Salinger had died maybe about a half hour ago (as I begin this 'review'). This sounds immensely absurd, pathetically sentimental, and embarrassing to admit, but I'm glad I heard it from him and not from some animatronic talking head with chin implants and immobile hair on the nightly news or from an obnoxiously matter-of-fact internet blurb, commenting like a machine on how Holden Caulfield has lately become less relevant to Generation Y or Z or AA or whatever stupid generation we're up to now.

At first when brian told me, I thought, 'Oh, well... He was old. He was (probably) batshit crazy anyway. It was his time to check out, I guess.' Really. What difference does it make? He's been dead to the world since the mid-1960s. Before I was even born. A strong case could be made that he truly died in spirit when he started stalking Elaine Joyce on the set of 1980s sitcom Mr. Merlin. And yet... I still clung to this (still technically living) legend as if he were some kind of talisman I could wear around my neck, a good luck charm to ward off phonies and all manner of soulless dreck who populate this despicable world, writing 'fuck' on grammar school walls (and metaphorical equivalents).

After returning for a few minutes to my soul-deadening job, which -- when you really get right down to it -- is just another way of killing time until I join Salinger in oblivion, I started getting all funny-feeling about it. At the risk of sounding like an adult contemporary power ballad written by Jim Steinman, with synthesized violins in the background, I began to feel as if my adolescence had finally come to an end. I guess it's about time. I'm thirty-eight years old, and yet I look at the people who are my age -- hell, who are even much younger than I am -- and who appear in all particulars to be adults, and I grow frightened/alarmed that they've graduated to the 'next level': they're mating and spawning and drawing up wills and completing their own tax returns and investing money and dealing (gracefully -- or with stoicism?) with the deaths of friends and relatives... and even some of them have died themselves of terrible diseases -- the kinds of diseases which are not content with merely claiming lives but which demand the optimal human suffering (the optimal dehumanization) before they cash in.

So of course. I love all of Salinger's writing, but his value in my life has far surpassed that of a 'mere' literary pastime. He has kept me company for many years when I felt left behind by the exigencies of time and the claims of 'maturity.' In my head, I still picture myself as a nineteen-year-old, and I'm shocked again and again when somehow every other moron on the planet seems to be under the ridiculous impression that I'm a thirty-eight-year-old man. With graying hair. And deepening crow's feet. What idiots!

I know all of this shit I'm saying is cliché, cliché, cliché. Lots and lots of people feel a special connection to Salinger's writing -- for just the reasons I described -- and lots and lots of people hate his writing because they find it grating and immature (Catcher in the Rye) or pretentious and ponderous (the Glass family stories). But I felt compelled to commemorate today in some way -- however trite and superfluous -- because I sense again and again (with the relatively recent deaths of some of my heroes, like Ingmar Bergman and Jacques Derrida, for instance) that I am entering a world that is no longer safeguarded by the great men and women of the elder generation; I am entering a world in which I am now the elder... with my own responsibilities and obligations. Yes, this still frightens me, but I'll always have Salinger's very particular and empathetic world to which to retreat when I have sacrificed too much of myself to a real world I'll never completely understand or feel at home in.

I know there are people who thought this book changed their lives and helped them find their unique way in the world, but coming from a non-white, non-middleclass background, as a kid, I really resented having to read about this spoiled, screwed up, white, rich kid who kept getting chance after chance and just kept blowing it because he was so self-absorbed and self-pitying. I felt at the time there was no redeeming value in it for me. I was born on the outside trying my best to get in. I felt no sympathy for him at all. I didn't even find him funny. It just made me angry. I guess it still does.

One of my all time favourites.

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کتابی خاص با شخصیتی خاص تر به اسم هولدن...هولدن هم بشدت دوست داشتنی بود هم خیلی غرغرو و رو مخ...یعنی تو اوج دوست داشتنش گاهی دلم میخواست خفش کنم...
منم وقتی پونزده شونزده ساله بودم مثه هولدن بشدت از همه چیز و همه کس بدم میومد...نمیدونم چرا...اما واقعا بدم میومد خیلی هم بی دلیل |: دقیقا برعکس الان خودم...
از سلینجر به عنوان یه نویسنده که سبکش ضد اجتماعه یاد میشه...و این کتاب هم معروفترین اثرش و تقریبا میشه گفت شاهکاره سلینجره...
یه جا خوندم که دو نفر که به ترور دو شخصیت مهم (یکی ریگان رئیس جمهور آمریکا و دومی جان لنون خواننده موسیقی پاپ)محکوم شدند و به زندان افتادند. تو جیب کتشون کتاب ناتور دشت پیدا شده و انگیزشونو از این کتاب گرفتن..
واقعا جالبه...واقعا عجیبه...