The Catcher in the Rye

[ericadawn16]

I'd never read The Catcher in the Rye before but everyone makes it seem like one of those books everyone has to read at some point.

So, I just finished it. It was good, thought provoking and believable but not something I'd want to read over and over, not as super amazing as some make it out to be. Perhaps the key is to read it when you're sixteen. Some of Holden's thoughts reminded me of what I felt then, some things I still feel now and a lot of stuff I see on Tumblr.

Holden also reminded me a lot of an Autistic friend I have in his stubbornness to have rules in social situations that cannot be changed and expect everyone to be that same way. You can't convince him otherwise. Also, when Holden would ask a lot of questions, repeat questions and mentioned how everyone kept telling him he was "immature".

I think Phoebe was my favorite. She knew he was full of shit and doomed but he was her brother so she loved him anyway.

"The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one."

Comments

[allisnow.livejournal.com]

It was pretty 'meh' when I read it at 16, too.

[ragnarok-08.livejournal.com]

I have not read The Catcher in the Rye yet :/

[beccadg.livejournal.com]

Strictly anecdotally speaking, it seems to be "a guy thing." It was a male teacher that had us all read it in high school. It's a book my male best friend in grade school adored, and my father still adores in his 60's. In high school I just felt sorry for Holden. Rereading it in my 30's for a college class, I wished Holden had better help available to him, but I also liked reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower more. We read the two books together and then had to compare them.

[iibnf.livejournal.com]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_UIdPx4-uU

I watched this, instead.

[coldwater1010.livejournal.com]

I thought it was ok. I was more into his book Franny and Zooey and his short stories, but overall Salinger wasn't a writer who grabbed me as a kid.

[twhitesakura.livejournal.com]

I know we were just discussing what we were reading and you've finished it already!

I haven't read the book, but I think there are some books that you get more out of when you read them at an earlier or later age. When you're younger, every revelation seems new, and when you're older, you can see more the hidden themes and messages in a book that you missed when you were younger. =)