Book Review: Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

The Catcher in the Rye is not a book meant to be liked or criticized by the readers because the author writes down a part of his own heart and mind and thus it seems evident that just like ‘Holden Caulfield’ even J.D. Salinger cared the least about the opinion of the society he was a part of. The book converses with you on a personal level in a way unlike any other book, person or even your own conscious.

The book is so well written that it effortlessly induces emotions and imageries in your mind and transports you deep into the world of Caulfield. Most importantly it is fearlessly written and compels the reader to think with an unconventional perspective. Here is an example of what I mean-

“That’s the whole trouble. You can’t ever find a place that’s nice and peaceful, because there isn’t any. You may think there is, but once you get there, when you’re not looking, somebody’ll sneak up and write ‘Fuck you’ right under your nose. Try it sometime. I think, even, if I ever die, and they stick me in a cemetery, and I have a tombstone and all, it’ll say ‘Holden Caulfield’ on it, and then what year I was born and what year I died, and then right under that it’ll say ‘Fuck you.’ I’m positive, in fact.”

Read the book as it will be unlike any book that you may have ever read because what you take back from ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ is not a new story but a new perspective. It is well deserved to be considered a classic. Enjoy reading!

P.S. An interesting fact- Mark Chapman, infamous for murdering John Lennon, kept this book with him. Quite spookily, after shooting down John Lennon he peacefully sat on the sidewalk and started reading his copy of The Catcher in the Rye while waiting for the cops to arrest him.