So, JD Salinger's book, The Catcher in the Rye, is a book that is talked about on a regular basis. It's one that I kept thinking I should read to see what all the fuss is about and make sure I wasn't missing out on anything. Well, maybe it's just me - but I just don't get what people see in this book. Yes, it's different to anything else I've read - almost like a free form diary of a disgruntled 16 year old boy(Holden Caulfield). He hates and loves at the flick of a switch - fickle in some ways, but deeply loyal in others (to his sister Phoebe). It's written with all the slang of the fifties and the language can be a little fruity. It feels like the unedited thoughts of Holden as he spends a couple of days trying to decide what to do after he is expelled from yet another school. Too afraid to go home to feel the wrath of his father, he wanders around New York encountering people he takes an instant dislike to, or who he thinks he might have a connection with - but that tends to fade quickly. Generally an unhappy, angst-ridden rant against the world he finds himself in and doesn't understand - it's hard to feel any sympathy with Holden who seems to have brought all his woes on his own head. This book irritated me, and I cannot fathom why it seems to have influenced so many people. Maybe I'm too old - and if I'd read it as a teenager with all those hormones running through my veins then perhaps I would feel differently - but I don't think so. A book elevated beyond its content - don't bother reading if you haven't done so.
My STAR rating: TWO.
Length: 192 print pages.
Price I paid: free (borrowed from my local library)
Formats available: print; audio; ebook.
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