Book Review: The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye has been highly praised by so many people and some people I know have recommended this to me from a long time ago, and yet I hadn't had a chance (read: good mood) to read The Catcher in the Rye. Actually, I did not have an idea of what it would be. At first I thought The Catcher in the Rye was about teenage mayhem or a kind of classic version of YA novel. Nevertheless, I eventually went to read this book and here is my review of it.

The story is told in the protagonist's point of view, Holden Caulfield, a 16-year-old kid who has just got dispelled from his school for the third time.  Whoa, what an achievement.

Categorically, Holden is not a troublemaker. He even tends to avoid troubles — thanks to his cowardice — but he is sort of indifferent about himself and pretty aimless. He doesn't know what to do, he doesn't really want to do anything... He is just that indifferent and rather nihilistic — and those traits are Holden's major problem.

Other thing, this world does not amuse Holden. Everyone in this world irritates him: his school mates, his teachers, his dates, even random people in bars. Only his siblings don't make Holden feel depressed, especially his deceased brother Allie and his little sister Phoebe who is very smart and lovely. There is my favourite part where Phoebe asks Holden what is the thing he likes the most. She does that because she understands Holden's problem and that is really remarkable given that Phoebe is only 10 years old.

Throughout the book you can see that the only thing Holden could do is rant and ramble.  I sort of expected that he'd end up committing suicide or killing random people because by doing so at least he could show that he is able to do something. But of course he doesn't and that terribly depresses me. I mean, I love screwed-up protagonists who can screw back.

Take Henry Chinaski for example. You see, Henry mostly grunts — just like Holden — but I love him because even though he is so much fucked up, he at least does something. He is not a nihilist — he is simply angry. People start to mess with him and he messes with them as well. Anyway, I kind of get it that this is not an appropriate comparison since Holden is a teenager and Henry is much older, but still. I have been 16 and depressed too and I still can't relate to Holden's whine.

In spite of the abundant annoyance I bear from Holden's attitude, I adore J. D. Salinger's marvelous talent in writing. He has the ability to develop in-depth and consistent characterisation and everyone knows it is not an easy task. If it's not because of this genius skill, I wouldn't have detested Holden this much. The Catcher in the Rye is also quite engaging in fact, again because Salinger has crafted it very well. He has successfully managed to provide a nihilist's point of view with remarkable details.

So, how many stars I think I should give to The Catcher in the Rye?  ✮✮✰✰✰

Why? Because again, I loathe Holden and that has made me unable to give an objective view. 5 stars for Salinger, -3 for Holden.