The Catcher in the Rye - J. D. Salinger

Advantages: A gripping read ; Superb characters ; A book all teenager's can relate to ; Inspired Richey James Edwards
Disadvantages: Too short ; I never want it too end

...done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it." The Catcher In The Rye was a curious novel I came across during the hectic time of revising for my fresher's year finals. While becoming completely addicted to my second favourite band: The Manic Street Preachers, I still read a few short biographies of one of my heroes: Richey Manic. His favourite book ...
...thought I'd discover what all the fuss is about. Unlike most common fiction books for the latter adolescence, The Catcher In The Rye is a hypnotic read, not only does most of the content have a nostalgic feel to it, but any teenager can relate to and sympathise with the main character. I was stunned to lean that the book dates back as far as 1951 as it still remains a highly significant monument in adolescent literature. This novel should be the ... Read review

Advantages: A masterpiece of modern fiction
Disadvantages: The 1950's language and slang might sound funny to some

...than if you were reading the latest Heat. It's not a big book either, just 208 pages (in paperback). And those 208 pages tell a fantastic story that still applies to our world today just as well as it did in the 1950's America when the novel was written. And even if the novel is not your cup of tea and you don't get anything else out of it then at least it makes you feel enormously relieved for being an adult and not a teenager anymore… --The Story ...
...picture of the inner conflicts of a troubled teenager in a changing world. It's a simple story: 16-year-old Holden Caulfied tells us about a few days in his life, how he was suspended from school and how he then drifts along the streets of New York looking for some kind of meaning and purpose for his existence. --The Style-- When the book was published it outraged many because of its unembellished language (well, Holden just says things as they ... Read review

Advantages: Very easy to read
Disadvantages: None, I love it

...for 50p!! It begins with the following, and immediately hooks you and you can't put it down... 'If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap...' American novelist and short story writer JD Salinger published one novel and several short story collections ...
...Manhattan, New York. He was the son of a Jewish importer of Kosher cheese and his Scotch-Irish wife. He fell in love with Oona O'Neill, and wrote her letters daily, he was later shocked when she married Charles Chaplin. In 1945 Salinger married a French woman named Sylvia - she was a doctor. They were divorced and in 1955 Salinger married Claire Douglas, this marriage ended in divorce in 1967, when Salinger's retreated into his private world. Rumors ... Read review

Advantages: The Catcher In The Rye is a wonderfully jaded and realistic story. You will fly through this book and be sorely disappointed to see it end.
Disadvantages: Well, the English is a bit difficult to make out every now and then, but what the hell - it's educational.

...Web site devoted entirely to the cynical, jaded, and sarcastic attitudes we frequently displayed to the entire universe. Among other things we praised: MTV’s “Daria,” old-school punk music, and anti-fashion statements (hey, we were trying to make serious statements at age fourteen – give us a break). We also hailed J.D. Salinger’s “The Catcher In The Rye” as The Cynic’s Bible – and for good reason! ...
...the 17 year-old star character of this fictional story – tells his kid sister Phoebe about the one profession he would REALLY like to do, “if I had my goddamn choice,” as he puts it. Simply, Holden would like to stand in front of a dropoff and watch children run through a nearby rye field. If a child got too close to the dangerous dropoff, he could catch him or her – thus, The Catcher In The Rye. This is absurd at first glance, ... Read review

Advantages: A strong relationship is formed with the character
Disadvantages: Drags slightly

...Sort of Teenage Angst for the literary world RRP: £7.99 Paperback Amazon Price: £5.27 Most of you will know of Catcher in the Rye from school. It is likely fewer have read it out of personal choice. I remembered reading this in school and although I enjoyed it, I couldn't quite get to grips with what all the fuss was about. Having bought the book for my partner last year who hadn't read it, I decided to read it for a second time to see if the ...
...view of the book. ***Brief Summary*** The book is written in the first person by a young boy who following some unelaborated on break down which lands him in an undescript institution. Holden Caulfield, a bored New York teenager tells the story of how he was kicked out of yet another boarding school. With time on his hands between leaving the oppressive school he disliked so much and the Christmas holidays at which point his parents will discover ... Read review