Book 15: The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye
J.D. Salinger

Salinger's classic novel of adolescent restlessness and angst is a powerful testament to the teenage mind, and while it isn't particularly heavy on plot its detailed character study and astounding use of a consitstent and evocative voice make it utterly distinctive. Holden Caulfield is immediately accessible from the book's first sentence, and his voice is entirely consistent throughout the short book. He is so real and so well realized that his repetition of certain words and phrases ("phony" being the most predominant and important) is entirely indicative of his state of mind and not in the least distracting. The repetition pops out and demands interest, but Salinger carefully chooses what is important and the repeated words and phrases become key indicator's of Holden's personality and his outlook on the world. The writing moves with ease through digressions and appeals to the reader that seem to properly echo the inner mind of a disaffected teenager. Holden is distinctly literate and articulate but he is also at heart a portrait of the teenage angst he both embodies and defines. Holden feels hopeless but is compelling and not whiny: adults can see themselves, both past and present, in Holden's muted rage against phonies and goddam idiots. The book becomes at times boring and Holden is (obviously) a little immature, but he is interesting throughout and Salinger doesn't push his luck too much, limiting Holden's tale to just over 200 pages and keeping it tightly wound around his experiences in New York City following his expulsion from school. Other characters are interesting and, at times, charming (how I wish I was as precocious as his sister Phoebe), but they fade into the background as Holden takes center stage, both for better and for worse; it's hard to tell exactly what to make of them but, then again, Holden freely admits that he is one hell of a liar. The Catcher in the Rye fully deserves its status as the fundamentally defining work of the adolescent zeitgeist: well written and thought-provoking, Holden perfectly embodies teenage aimlessness while exposing, however accidentally, truths about all of us phonies.

Grade: A