A Review Of The Catcher In The Rye

This book was about Holden Caulfield. He got kicked out of school. He is only in high school. It is the second or third high school he has been kicked out of. He gets kicked out on a Friday, and has until Wednesday before he is willing to see his parents in New York City. So he has a few days to kill in New York City. This book follows his random adventures through New York City, meeting random people, reflecting on almost everything. Finally, he goes home to his apartment early, slinking around 'cause he doesn't want to wake up his parents, and meets his kid sister, Phoebe. Phoebe says their parents are not at home, so they have a long discussion on her bed in which she asks him if he even cares about anything. He slips out just as his parents are coming home, and, depressed by everything, decides to move out west and live in a solitary cabin. The next day he wants to say goodbye to Phoebe, so he leaves a note with one of the counselors at her school, and they meet up during her lunch break. The book ends with Holden watching Phoebe riding on one of the horses on the carousel in Central Park during a rainstorm. The whole book is told in the past tense- a couple of years have passed since the events in the story. Holden says he eventually met up with his parents, and went to a new school in the fall.

I liked the conversational tone of the book. I like how easy it was to read (I read it in one night). I like the insight we get into a kid's head in the late 1940's. It's interesting to see how the world worked then, as opposed to now.

I didn't like how goddamn much he smoked. It seems like he was always lighting up another cigarette. And he drank a lot, too. It's supposed to be very eloquent, but I found myself getting a little tired of the same old phrases, and it was kinda stilted at times. 

All in all, a good book. I recorded my reading of it, but I forgot to turn my recorder on for one chapter- the chapter where Holden goes home and talks to Phoebe in her bed. Other than re-reading that for the recorder just to get a complete recording, I don't think I'll ever read this book again.