The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

Cover for the Penguin Classics edition
(4th March 2010)

Title: The Catcher In The Rye
Author: J. D. Salinger
Publisher: Hamish Hamilton
Release Date: 1951 (first published)
Genre: Classics

Summary:
Holden Caulifield is seemingly misunderstood by everyone around him. Having been kicked out of numerous prestigious schools, Holden decides to spend the weekend in New York being an adult and dreaming of freedom.

Review:
The story of Holden Caulifield is short and sweet, as it spans over one weekend. However, even though it is short; it is complex mixing numerous themes and feelings throughout (hence why I struggled to actually summarise the plot in this post). Come to think of it, in my opinion, the story is more of an extract of memoirs rather than a piece of traditional fiction with different events and stages of equilibrium; for there are no dramatic events, just the inner monologue of the protagonist taking the reader through their feelings over a short period of time. 

Many would think that an uneventful plot would make a book boring, but no; I loved this aspect of it as it was really different to many modern books which aim to pack as much action into them as possible to little effect. In my opinion, where the plot lacks events; it therefore makes up in thought provoking themes and issues. Perfect.

The protagonist, himself, is complex as well. When reading the book you are never really sure what he means and he really keeps you guessing. However, his innocence, naivety and blatant stubbornness makes you instantly connect with him and carry on reading. He is so lovable in a "I feel sorry for you" kind of way.

That said, Holden did remind me a lot of Charlie in The Perks of Being a Wallflower (my review of which can be found here) as you can tell from the out set that Holden is heading in one inevitable direction. The similarities are also heightened by the authors both choosing to tackle the issues of mental health.

If only I had been made to read this at school, I would have discovered this gem of a book a lot quicker!

Rating: 9/10. It is a classic for a reason.

You can buy The Catcher in the Rye from Amazon here.