cellardoor

what is it about this book that causes either love or hatred

as far as i can tell, people who love it are like holden cauffield, and people who don't are like all the stupid bastards he meets

stressed

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Malone

Haha.

Yeah, I think you're right. I'm like him in that I get depressed for no reason and generally despise most people.

I love it.

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cowpops

I loved this book.

The only people I know who didn't are people with Zero personality.

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L00kbackinanger

A decent read. Best first person book I've ever read. The characterisation is amazing. The rejection of modernity and the evident stress that he's under is something with which most will empathise. I think that's why it's such a powerful text.

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ArlenOrobono

Favorite book I've ever had to read in school .

RebelGoddess

I found this book very tedious.

Mostly because every single thing out of Holden Caulfield's mouth made me want to smack him.

And then drag him to a therapist because he so obviously just needed to talk with someone who would actually listen.

He was so incredibly whiney, self absorbed, and immature (especially considering how he thought of himself as the only "non-phoney").

I know that Salinger most likely wrote him this way (so as to create a character that the gererally moody teenage masses could relate with) and in that respect I think he did a very good job.

But it still bugged me.

And it certainly didn't help when the kids in my class, the ones who scoffed at reading and who were the exact embodiment of Holden's "phonies", started proclaiming that it was the most amazing novel ever; that it changed their life.

Haha... five years later and I still can't bring myself to give it another try (though I still have my intact copy from that class, notated post-its and all).

Maybe in another few years I'll try it again and get a different impression, but right now I can't stand this novel.

Racheal

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Mike C

It seems to be one of those books people love or hate, no middle ground. Holden was written as an unsympathetic character, and one I guess guys are more likely to identify with than girls.

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SevenWritez

That's because you're a phoney.

Anyways, I loved this book.

For me with Squalor

Great great book. Salinger wrote it, mostly from his heart. There is a lot of similarities between him and Holden, he said so himself!

Fun Fact: Salinger is still alive 89 years old. And has not published any work since 1965 (I believe). So when he dies (which could be very soon) we will have a shitload of new material from his last 30yrs of writing. It sounds morbid but I can't wait!

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RebelGoddess

Haha, am not. LOL!

I guess I just have a low tolerance for whining. Haha, guess that's why I stopped baby sitting LOL.

Despite the morbidity and eventual loss of a great writer, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing some new stuff from him. Salinger is very talented.

Racheal

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shipwrecker

Too few choices given, as really I neither loved, hated nor am neutral by any means towards C.I.T.R.

We were unfortunately given choices during schooling to select novels and I simply let this one pass while selecting others in place of it. Therefore, my first reading of it came just one month ago at the tender age of nearing forty...with a couple years to spare. I think my perspective on it differs from some who may look back on it with great fondness, as I wasn't struck at an impressionable time in my own life with tales of Holden's self-discovery and attitudes to emmulate.

I will say that I enjoyed the read and would recommend the book to both old and young, as I believe it hits the nail on the head in regards to what angst your everyday troubled teen may be feeling at any given time. Loved it? Too strong for me to use that term.

Note on personal OCD:
I found myself going mad counting the number of times the word "depresses", "depressed" or "depressing" was used throught this book.

SevenWritez

Yeah, it was pretty depressing, wasn't it?

A-L

Interesting read, I recently read it and I find Holden to be one of the funniest yet most annoying characters I have ever come across. Though it was an enjoyable read, after finishing it I found myself feeling slightly...depressed?

Ilasir Maroa

Not a big fan. I'm closer to "hate it" than any of the other choices, though I think they're a bit at extremes. I found Holden a very boring character, and most of the respect I had for the novel died after Salinger introduced his sister. And of course, never been a fan of private school kids, at least, not ones like Holden. As a "moody teenager" I found Holden more phoney than some of the other characters.

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Cipher2

Great novel.. It's resting on my bookshelf right now. I might I read it again.

It was better reading than when I read those corny novels. That depressed me. It really did.