A review by trauman413
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

5.0

So many people around me detest this novel. But perhaps they're all just phonies.
This type of genre is not normally my cup of tea, but I fell in love with this book regardless.

Holden is one of the most realistic characters I have ever seen portrayed in a novel. Sure, the novel commences awfully mundanely, but as it progresses, you see that the slightly boring beginning is foundation for the fantastic novel. Without learning about Stradlater or Ackley, we cannot learn about Holden's judgment.

Now, I liked the book as I read it, but it wasn't until chapter 24 when my love for the novel grew exponentially.

Spoiler

This is when Holden meets Mr. Antolini, who tells him essentially the theme of the novel in a Dolphius Raymond-like fashion. One would expect Holden to be enlightened and suddenly emerge as a truly understanding human of all of his flaws. Not quite. At the end of the chapter when Holden misinterprets Mr. Antolini's patting as pedophilia, he immediately runs away and practically throws away all of that advice. We see Holden's mental conflict beginning in chapter 25, wondering if running away was the wisest idea. He is back and forth, but it is too late. He is lost now, and has not gotten anything from Mr. Antolini, as a normal human would. He is a wreck and cannot truly focus on anything, so he runs away. Chapter 25 was my favorite chapter and what made me fall in love with this novel so much. His interaction with Phoebe was poignant and impeccable. He needs her. He had already lost his brother, Allie due to leukemia. He can't lose his little sister; he would literally die if he did. Phoebe is the glue to his broken puzzle. And watching her on the carousel-- that was what was his defining moment. Not only was it super symbolic in that it was a circular ride and she was going around in a circle like the catcher in the rye poem and preserved her cheerfulness, but it showed that Holden can find happiness in life, with something to "fuck" it up, as he mentioned previously. It just connects everything prior in the novel together. People often complain about the ending, but I could not have imagined a better novel for this. The best decision Salinger could have made was to not kill off Holden. Suicide had been a motif, and it was such a colossal relief that he did not, for it would have put everything in the entire novel to waste and would have been so utterly dumb.

I wholeheartedly recommend this novel. READ IT.