Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.

Title: The Catcher in the Rye  

Author: J.D. Salinger 

Synopsis: Since his debut in 1951 as The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield has been synonymous with "cynical adolescent." Holden narrates the story of a couple of days in his sixteen-year-old life, just after he's been expelled from prep school, in a slang that sounds edgy even today and keeps this novel on banned book lists. It begins,

"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them."

His constant wry observations about what he encounters, from teachers to phonies (the two of course are not mutually exclusive) capture the essence of the eternal teenage experience of alienation. 

Review: I've been wanting to read The Catcher in the Rye for the longest time now, simply because I could just feel it would be a book I'd enjoy. I love books cynical main characters simply because I can connect to them in some way. Holden Caulfield, the protagonist in The Catcher in the Rye, is the perfect example of cynical teenager. I must admit that I felt a little scared while reading the book, finding out that I had thought the same things he thought and done the same things he does. I don't admire him, but I am like him in some way. This is definitely a character-driven book and it doesn't have a concrete plot, but I felt like it was amazing nonetheless. Maybe a bit boring in some parts, but never boring enough to make me want to put the book down and stop listening to Holden. While reading, I felt like he was actually telling me a story, like two people talking. I enjoyed his opinions on things even though he often didn't give the reader time to formulate an opinion of their own. How he felt about girls, about school, about the people he met by constantly changing schools. It was interesting.  I think this books is not for everyone, it's easy to hate Holden and since this book revolves around him, it wouldn't be fun to read for those people. I know people out there that would really enjoy this book, like me, because they feel the same way as Holden about some aspects in life. I know I did. 

Rating: ★★★★

Until next time, 
Ana Lucía.