The Catcher in the Rye

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The Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger
1951

The Summary
After moving to California with his brother D.B., Holden Caulfield recalls all the "madman stuff" that happened to him just before Christmas.  He remembers his tenure at Pencey Prep (the military school which he attended - and from which he was promptly expelled) and his misadventures in New York City, opening the door on a world warped by teenage angst, desperation, and cynicism, and the search for identity.

The Good
J. D. Salinger creates an amazing and realistic character in Holden Caulfield.  His astute observations, his eccentric and scattered identity, and his uninhibited cynicism will draw you in and cut right to your heart.

Despite the unusual quirks in mood and stability, however, Holden possesses the capability to relate to everyone.  Although our desires may not be so spontaneously fulfilled as his, he often speaks from a place of knowledge and experience.

What he knows and what he experiences you may have learned and experienced also - which makes Holden all the more real and remarkable.

The Bad
Although entirely entertaining, the world of The Catcher in the Rye exists in the mind of Holden Caulfield, which generally means uninhibited wit, candid observations, and prolific amounts of swearing.  (I can't say there's a page in this novel that doesn't have at least some type of offensive language - or questions about sexuality - on it.)

Simply put, Holden has no qualms about relaying his each and every thought or sprinkling in an expletive or two (or ten) to embellish his vocabulary.

The Ugly
Although Holden's story opens with his admission about the "madman stuff" that happened in New York, you don't have a conscious understanding of just how broken and disjointed his mind may have become.

His fear of disappearing, his sudden and inarticulate desires, his intense and frightening feelings of depression, and his attempts to speak to Ally (his deceased brother) remind you that he is, in fact, a very damaged individual.  And his fears grow disproportionately large and foreboding as the novel progresses.

You can visibly track the progression of all the "madman stuff," as his body and mind begin to wear down.  He appears to be following a path of self-destruction - and that's probably the most frightening aspect of this novel, because Holden could just as easily be you.