The Catcher in the Rye

[MadArchitect]

Well, as someone who does like "Catcher", I have to say that I'm a little surprised at some of the responses here. It certainly doesn't read to me like a book that would assuage anyone's feelings of not fitting in. Holden Caulfield certainly is misanthropic, but there's practically nothing in the book that praises diversity or individuality, save Holden's own misanthropic rant. And Holden himself comes to a pretty bad end, so I'm not sure how much redemption we can find in his character. Even his younger sister, who he sets out to save, finds his rationale and his motive dubious, and I'd say she's probably more reliable moral guide than just about any other character in the book. I think many of you may have sold the book short without really giving it credit for more than mere surface sophistication. There's a lot more going on in the novel than what is explicitly stated -- a fact that is, for most people, masked by the assertiveness of the anti-hero's personality.

[Constance963]

I think I am going to have to re-read this book now.....I never had to read Catcher in school, however it is such a talked about book, I wanted to find out what the deal was so I read it on my own when I was 19. That was quite a few years ago now, and I remember enjoying the story but not quite understanding what all the fuss was about. I don't recall identifying with Holden at the time and I don't remember the ducks. I need to pull this one out of storage and have another look.

[MadArchitect]

Salinger is good author to revisit now and again. As it happens, I've been re-reading "Franny and Zooey" and realizing how much I missed the first time around.

[Constance963]

I will definitly be revisiting Catcher once I'm done what I'm reading now. I love my copy of Catcher too - I got it at a book swap. It's from 1966 and says 75 cents on the cover LOL!! I grab up old 1960's books when I can find them.

I've been in a big wave of re-reading recently. There are so many books I read years ago that I don't remember much about anymore. Two others on my re-read list are The Great Gatsby and Crime and Punishment both of which I remember loving when I was in high school.

[MadArchitect]

I'm also a big fan of outdated editions of books. Most of the books in my library are older editions with really cool, retro covers.

"The Great Gatsby" was just about the only novel assigned in high school that I really, genuinely responded to. But while I like Dostoevsky a great deal, I've never been a fan of "Crime and Punishment". Weird, huh?

[Constance963]

No, not weird at all. I was a psychology major however so the psychological element of the book was really fascinating to me. Getting into the mind of a murderer is oddly interesting, probably because I can't comprehend that kind of an act.