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| The Catcher in the Rye | 
 enlarge | Author: J. Salinger
Publisher: Penguin
Category: Book
List Price: £8.99
Buy Used: £2.23
You Save: £6.76 (75%)
New (28) from £3.48
Avg. Customer Rating:  246 reviews
Sales Rank: 372
Media: Paperback
Edition: Revised edition
Pages: 208
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 0.6
ISBN: 014023750X
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780140237504
ASIN: 014023750X
Publication Date: August 4, 1994
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Just Fab February 20, 2008
1 out of 6 found this review helpful
This book is absolutely brilliant. I'm just a student and I am aspiring to write like Salinger one day.
The BEST book I have ever read. February 12, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I first started reading this book out of simple curiousity: it had no synopsis on the back. The fact is that there is no real plot, and although others think that there is no point in a book with no story, i love it.
It gives a wonderful insight into the life and mind of a 16 year old boy and by the end of the book I felt like i really knew Holden better than anybody in real life. I was able to identify so well with Holden, which i rarely get with many books. i think that the people who dislike this book are "the Phonies" who always felt like they fit in with the world and they fail to understand the thoughts of Holden.
The way it is written is incredible, it was like having a conversation: Holden would start telling you about one thing, and then sort of get sidetracked by another thought and really get into that. with some books you begin reading about something and you stick on that same thread for a really long time, with The Catcher In The Rye this doesn't happen. its awesome.
The only fault i can find with this book is that for weeks after reading it, i went around calling everyone a "goddam phoney," which does get a little annoying after a while.
In conclusion, read it. it is the best book you will read for a long time. no matter how many times i read it, it remains fresh and has a huge impact on me.
 Readable, but is this as great as it is said to be? February 2, 2008
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
One of the great American 20th century classics, this is a timeless story of a boy on the threshold of adulthood, working out his relationship with his family, his school, girls and the outside world. I grew more sympathetic with the main character Holden Caulfield as the novel progressed. Nevertheless, coming of age novels are very common and I am not sure immediately why this is considered such an all time classic; perhaps one has to read it at the right time of life to appreciate it fully.
Love it or hate it, you should still read it. January 22, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is, without doubt, easily my favourite book of all-time. It's just my perfect book, in every concievable way, from style to form and characterisation, and absolutely nothing anyone could say against it would ever make me think otherwise.
I can't say exactly in plain and reasonably simple words what makes this novel so fantastic, for I feel that it is really a personal experience for each reader, to make an emotional connection with it. All I can say is that I feel that I connected with Holden, and that is it. I firmly believe that those who dislike (or hate) this novel are simply missing the entire point of it. You have to have experienced emotions similar to what Holden is going through to get a full grasp of this novel, and for those who find Holden moronic and egotistical, this is impossible to do as they cannot empathize through him.
This is the only book that has often made me laugh and cry, often both at the same time. It has no other political or social meaning, and is viable for every generation. I hope they never make a film of it, because, as J.D. Salinger put it: "it wouldn't be what Holden wanted".
Overall then, it seems that "The Catcher in the Rye" is truely a book of literary Marmite: you either love it or hate it. But whatever your view, you should still read it, simply because of the widely varied opinions of the novel.
 Disappointed January 5, 2008
2 out of 8 found this review helpful
Having heard all the hype over this "Modern Classic" and how it would give me a whole new perspective on life and all that, I finally got `round to reading it, only to be left feeling completely unsatisfied.
Don't get me wrong- I can totally see how some people can relate to this book, but funnily enough, the people I can imagine relating to this book are the same people that sit at the back of my French class discussing how screwed over their lives are because "No one understands them".
But although I was disappointed, I still don't think the book is a complete failure. I mean, at the beginning, I found the writing style quite clever, and I found the language used for the narration amusing, but the novelty wore off after the first 3 chapters and I was left with the HIGHLY irritating character of Holden Caulfield.
Overall, I found this book unsatisfying and a waste of time because there was no plot, just a series of boring day-to-day situations filled with dull, characters with no depth at all. But I would recommend reading it, because who knows- you could love it, but sadly- its not the book for me.
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