Scan barcode
A review by mkhare
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
3.0
3.5 stars. Man, did this book book make me emotional, and not in a positive way. From my perspective, Holden Caulfield is definitely not an 'anti-hero' or 'a symbol of teenage rebellion', but rather someone who has built up so many defence and avoidance mechanisms (hating everyone and everything and not pursuing any sort of goal or passion) that they've practically lost sight of what they were protecting in the first place. He constantly seeks out others to distract him from himself,
or to boost his mood, yet has already decided that they will just let him down, regardless.
Holden is self-sabotaging and swings from manic to numb in the blink of the eye, never really deriving pleasure or optimism from anything except brief thoughts and ideals that he can't actually commit to (I've seen some reviews talk about how the book romanticizes a rebellious teen having a great time with booze and hookers and taking cabs everywhere, but I'm not sure which book they were reading). Of course, this behaviour is just as stereotypically 'rebellious' as everybody else's behaviour is stereotypically 'conforming', meaning that inevitably Holden is a walking contradiction (which is one of the main points the book makes about duality).
I ended up speed-reading the end chapters of this book, swept up in the whirlwind of Holden's anxiety and emptiness. I can definitely see how people would see him as merely an annoying, stuck-up rich kid, but as someone who has been stuck in the same toxic emotional and thought patterns as him (more the fear, numbness and the feeling of needing to protect innocence than Holden's trademark loathing of all the 'phonies'), reading his thoughts really hit a bit too close to home for me.
This is one of those rare times where I'm happy to have read a book, even if the experience of doing so was generally not an enjoyable or satisfying one. I also feel that this book could've been a bit shorter without losing any punch or meaning. I don't know if I could bear to read this book again (or, in fact, to seek out any other of Salinger's works apart from Franny and Zooey which I liked much more), but hopefully one day I will have the strength to approach it from a much more objective mindset.
or to boost his mood, yet has already decided that they will just let him down, regardless.
Holden is self-sabotaging and swings from manic to numb in the blink of the eye, never really deriving pleasure or optimism from anything except brief thoughts and ideals that he can't actually commit to (I've seen some reviews talk about how the book romanticizes a rebellious teen having a great time with booze and hookers and taking cabs everywhere, but I'm not sure which book they were reading). Of course, this behaviour is just as stereotypically 'rebellious' as everybody else's behaviour is stereotypically 'conforming', meaning that inevitably Holden is a walking contradiction (which is one of the main points the book makes about duality).
I ended up speed-reading the end chapters of this book, swept up in the whirlwind of Holden's anxiety and emptiness. I can definitely see how people would see him as merely an annoying, stuck-up rich kid, but as someone who has been stuck in the same toxic emotional and thought patterns as him (more the fear, numbness and the feeling of needing to protect innocence than Holden's trademark loathing of all the 'phonies'), reading his thoughts really hit a bit too close to home for me.
This is one of those rare times where I'm happy to have read a book, even if the experience of doing so was generally not an enjoyable or satisfying one. I also feel that this book could've been a bit shorter without losing any punch or meaning. I don't know if I could bear to read this book again (or, in fact, to seek out any other of Salinger's works apart from Franny and Zooey which I liked much more), but hopefully one day I will have the strength to approach it from a much more objective mindset.