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04-16-2003, 11:07 AM | #1 |
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Catcher in the Rye
I've just read J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye for the second time (this time in English).
This controversial book is one of the best things I have ever read. I think the book was even banned in America shortly after its publication. The story about Holden Caulfield, who is having a nervous breakdown and is in the verge of going insane, really appealed to me. I really love books and films where the main character is like Holden. The main characters shouldn't be heroes, not a care in the world. I find them much more interesting if they are having psychological problems, are depressed etc. I'm going to read more books of Salinger, and I hope they are equally good as Catcher in the Rye. More authors should write like Salinger! EDIT: The thread has been moved to the right forum. Good.
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04-16-2003, 11:57 AM | #2 |
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I luved the book myself. Amazing! His charachter is so honest!
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04-16-2003, 01:22 PM | #3 |
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Happy to oblige,
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04-17-2003, 02:40 PM | #4 |
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I loved this book. And I agree, people with spychological problems are more interesting.
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04-18-2003, 11:31 PM | #5 |
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I finally read Catcher not too long ago. I think it was an achievement in the sense that it broke a lot of unwritten rules and conventions of storytelling technique and style. It amazes me that something like Salinger's work was considered controversial back then; that, to me, says a lot about the mentality of 1940s society.
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04-19-2003, 01:36 AM | #6 |
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I can't believe they actually banned this book. It is actually required reading at school here; the reason I read it was my sister had to buy it for her course. I can see why it's controversial, at least back in the 1940's.
Once I started to read it, I couldn's stop. I didn't get the impression Holden was going insane. I thought he was just a messed up kid who needed to apply himself.
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04-19-2003, 12:43 PM | #7 | |
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Boy, Salinger's Catcher in the Rye has had a great impact on my book taste. Almost every time I read a book where the main character is messed up in one way or another, I automatically tend to think that it's a really good book. I can't help it. Does someone else think like this, or am I mad?
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04-22-2003, 10:50 AM | #8 |
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I loved this book! I didn't think he was mad - seems like an accurate portrayal of what it's like to be a teenager to me
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04-22-2003, 11:39 AM | #9 | |
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I found, at several points in the novel, that Holden was far more intelligent than any sort of average teenager (having been acquainted with many teenagers who are superficially depressed and not very good at it, either) - but it was all part of a potential that he did not develop.
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04-22-2003, 05:19 PM | #10 | |
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04-25-2003, 01:39 PM | #11 |
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I adore this book....
But anyway, I think Holden needed to be an intelligent character. Otherwise, he wouldn't really understand how screwed up the world around him is, and this screwed-up-ness wouldn't bother him as much.
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05-11-2003, 11:21 PM | #12 |
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One of my favorite books of all time. I am glad that it is required reading in high school. This year I also had to read Salinger's"Nine Stories". That book is very odd. I don't like it barely at all because I'm not really a short story person. It's a very odd and confusing book overall too.
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05-12-2003, 07:13 AM | #13 | |
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05-12-2003, 11:55 AM | #14 |
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Hiya, can somebody tell me if this book is very difficult to read in English?
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05-12-2003, 01:48 PM | #15 |
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English... as opposed to another language?
It's pretty easy since it's insanely casual... although there is some outdated slang. But you can usually guess what he means.
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05-12-2003, 02:00 PM | #16 | |
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05-12-2003, 02:26 PM | #17 | |
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I guess the 'feeling' is altered in the German version too, so read it in English.
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05-12-2003, 02:28 PM | #18 | |
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Thanks.
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06-08-2003, 04:31 PM | #19 |
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I have to read this for school over the summer (along with To Kill A Mocking Bird). That will probably kill the experience for me.
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11-24-2009, 07:37 PM | #20 | |
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Bumpity bump bump.
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Holden sucks at life, man. He's a loser. Like a lot of kids entering high school in the 1940s, same as today, same as ever. Salinger writes him like a pro so you really relate to him and can't help but recognize his problem and wanna grab him by the shoulders and say, "Snap out of it! You're really a cool kid! Stop getting down on yourself and relax and be happy!" That's how I, as a young, impressionable reader, recognized the same faults in myself that otherwise would have gone unnoticed for a few more years until maybe I wound up in a rest home of some kind. I was seriously messed up; it's possible that this book changed my life. And Holden's character... he's just a common kid. Salinger was a genius. |
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