The BBC Top 100 Books- The Catcher in the Rye
14:29
This book was not what I expected, despite the fact that I'm not entirely sure what I did expect. I think, for some reason, I'd imagined that it was set earlier than it was and that it would be written in a more formal style. So when, by the end of the first sentence, the narrator had already said, "all that crap", I was rather pleased.
The Catcher in the Rye is in fact set in America in the 1950s and is told from the perspective of a boy called Holden Caulfield. On the first page, you find out that he is currently in some sort of mental institute (we assume), where he has come to "take it easy". The rest of the book is him recounting to us what happened to him the year before, when he was sixteen and had just been kicked out of prep school for the fourth time.
The things he tells us are fairly unremarkable in themselves, but it's the way in which he tells them and the way his mind seems to work that are the fascinating parts. Despite the fact that Holden comes across as fairly peculiar, I found myself (along with many others, I hope) being able to identify with him, as well as agreeing with some of the seemingly strange and unrelated things that he says. I really loved the way that the narrative so cleverly shows how his thoughts drift from one thing to another in a way that at first seems quite bizarre, but is actually very realistic.
I also like how insightful Holden is as a narrator. He seems to have this obsession with blaming everything bad on what he calls "phoniness", which he sees in most people around him, especially adults. This "phoniness" is actually a rather ingenious description for situations and individuals that are superficial, shallow and hypocritical.
Although he's judgmental and tiresome in that he uses the same phrases over and over again, I found myself quite drawn to this odd sixteen year-old boy, who seems to be isolated from the world around him.
In amongst all the weird and wonderful things that Holden says, my favourite was his description of his little sister Phoebe as "roller-skate skinny". I can't really explain how, but I knew exactly what he meant.
I'd love to know what you thought of Holden, as he really is a very intriguing character and this was a very intriguing book!
Next up is Moby-Dick by Herman Melville.
Harriet x
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