The Cynic's Bible
 Jan 14th, 2002
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 .
Recommendable:
Yes
Detailed rating:
Would you read it again?
Story
Characters
Readability
How does it compare to similar books?
How does it compare to other works by the same author?
  Sarah_B
About me:
August 1, 2004 - not here anymore, y'all. Sorry 'bout that. No, not really.
Member since:16.11.2001
Reviews:122
Members who trust:51
Review rated by 54 Ciao members on average: very helpful 
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Read Comment
Several years ago a friend and I owned a 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!
*Why the screwy title?
Holden Caulfield – 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, but it has many interpretations. I for one would like to believe that Salinger’s most popular character ever expressed a veiled desire to save the world one kid at a time. But, as always, that’s just me talking. *What’s Holden Caulfield’s story, and why does he exist to begin with?
He has just been kicked out of Pencey Prep, an elite school in Pennsylvania,
U.S.A. that has no tolerance for academic shortcomings that the likes of Holden consistently produce. He is a very intelligent and insightful boy, but the only course he’s not failing is English!
This is not the first time Holden has been kicked out of school for pathetic grades, oh no! He is set to leave officially on Wednesday for the Christmas break, but decides to take off a few days in advance: 1. His peers are boring, disgusting, or rude. Holden describes his dormitory mates in great detail, often to the reader’s amusement but sometimes to their horror. Nothing is sacred in Caulfield’s world.
2. He wants a few days to himself to relax before he must return to New York and face his parents, who will surely be angry (disappointed and hurt as well) because of his failure. The boy sells his typewriter and leaves the school that very night, eager to lounge around in a New York hotel for a few blissful days during that cold, bitter winter – made worse by the fact that one of Pency’s many thieves has stolen his jacket and gloves.
Mainly, Holden is telling us about the three days that pass from the time that he leaves to his less than glorious homecoming. He has only a decent command of the English language, so some of his narratives are a tad jumbled. This combined with the fact that the book was first published in the 1950s makes for a very interesting read – you will find a lot of English words, slang, and writing styles that are simply not common anymore, so be prepared to do a bit of “mental translating” to get the picture. Caulfield is, truthfully, a foul-mouthed but street-wise cynic. His rantings and profane observations about the people around him will make you laugh, trust me. He is simply there to tell us about those crazy days before the Christmas break, but SO much more is revealed to the reader through his colorful and vivid narratives. He is a very well developed and realistic character, one with a tendency to be rough around the edges. He often refers to people as “bastards,” “morons,” and even “sonuvabitch” on occasion – obviously he is far from thrilled with life in general, and has no qualms about saying so!
He also notes that “it’s depressing” throughout his story. Truly Holden Caulfield is NOT the joyful boy that the world expects him to be! This only serves to create an even more intense and realistic atmosphere for the reader to lose him (or her) self in.
Throughout the course of this book you will be taken to many places, and you will meet all sorts of characters.
Pencey Prep, full of thieves and phonies.
A New York hotel, where you will meet a prostitute and her pimp.
New York, where you will encounter little boys in search of mummies and old ladies working at the school Phoebe Caulfield attends.
A train station, where two nuns have stopped for a quick meal.
Surly cab drivers, friendly little girls, snotty prep school professors, and freaky ex-teachers will also make their appearances between the covers of this book. Rest assured that Holden will tell you everything that he knows (or even simply suspects) about all of the people he encounters. He will also go off into observations about other related things, causing the narrative point of view to be that much more believable. Trust me, this will not bore you. In short, you will read about what Holden saw and did for three days – complete with cynical commentary and self-exploring rationale. You will laugh. You will think. You will nod your agreement, and feel sorry for this troubled boy. You will breeze through this book and be sorely disappointed to see it end.
*Why do you like it so much?
This is my favorite book of all time, period. It really is. I love it because Salinger has put a very realistic, charming, and provocative character into my hands. I have read this book twice now – I would have read it more often, but it seems to be a taboo work here in my backwards little community. (It’s impossible to find a copy!)
If there is only ONE book that should be ready by every man, woman and child in the world, THIS IS IT. *How much, and where can I get a copy?
I paid less than six U.S. dollars for my copy at samgoody.com. I got a paperback edition published by Little Brown Books, with a basic white cover and a rainbow stripe down the top left corner. It is about the size of those crappy little diaries my grandmother used to buy for me, which means it fits perfectly into my back pocket for quick reference should I be standing in line or doing some other equally boring thing. Do yourself a HUGE favor and buy this book! If you enjoy it, you will also find these other works by the same author:
Nine Stories
Frannie and Zooey
Raise High The Roof Beam, Carpenters
Seymour: An Introduction
For more information, please visit:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0316769487/qid=1010900164/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_67_1/002-7963348-2157628 Amazon.com’s attempt to sell it to you. You’ll find a wealth of information about it though, including excerpts from the book as well as a ton of customer reviews.
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10.05.2006 19:48
Excellent review ;) It's my all-time favourite too, and is the only book that I have had to buy a replacement for because my first copy was so battered from reading! Have you seen the movie "Chasing Holden"? You might enjoy it, I did! Wolf x
26.04.2006 20:00
Thank you very much for providing me with such a brilliant review of this book, I will buy at once!
20.12.2004 23:24
fantastic book and a fantastic review well dun for not overanalysing it! played