The Catcher in the Rye

This book is part of the books to read in your 20s list shared by my friend Yash.

I usually do not read coming of age or young adult genre books. But as usual, I did not do any background check before picking up the book. I simply started reading, because it was in the list.

The book is about a teenager named Holden who gets expelled from his school for failing all subjects, except English. Instead of leaving for home, he stays in hotels and roams around until his parents get the news. During those three days, he narrates us different moments of his life, his opinions on things around him.

The story flew so fast. There was no unnecessary philosophy or beating around the bush. I kept reading continuously and would have finished the book in a day if I had the time. There is no overall plot here. It felt like listening someone talk to you about different things going on in their life. It did not bore me.

So the story itself was quite good. Now let’s come to the controversial protagonist Holden. He is quite popular among the readers. He is loved by many and also hated by many. I initially did not like him much, because he was so biased by his opinions on every single thing. He is that kind of person who would hate you and form different narratives about you just by seeing your photo. I do not like such people with a lot of prejudice. But as you go through the story and read some analysis, you slowly understand that Holden is not himself and not because of his own actions. He suffered a lot in his childhood and that gradually made him hate everyone and everything.

This book also takes place in a different era (1950s) and different culture (Western). So I can not find myself following his views and conclusions on certain things.

But I also know certain people who are like Holden. They have an opinion on everything, can not understand good faith, gets depressed easily and every time. So whenever I read Holden’s narrative, I remembered those people.

I’m not an expert on such psychological issues. But I think, like Holden loved his sister so much and changed his decision for her at last, I hope that each one of us has someone whom we love so much and can help us in finding inspiration to guide us through difficult times.

I wish the last few chapters were written differently. It had a lot of words but with no significance much. It also ended a little abruptly.

Overall, I can say it is a nice book. Either you will find yourself being Holden or you will remember someone who is suffering like Holden.