The Catcher in the Rye, by J. D. Salinger, is one of the most read novels of the 20th century. Published in 1951, it tells three days in the life of a teenager, and became a mirror of generations.
The plot
Holden Caulfield, sixteen years old, has just been expelled from yet another boarding school. Instead of waiting for the end of the term, he decides to leave early and spend a few days alone in New York, without his parents knowing, before returning home. The book is the narration of this drift: hotels, bars, awkward meetings, phone calls, sister Phoebe.
There's no big action. The strength of the novel is in voice: Holden narrates in the first person, in a colloquial, angry and funny tone, which seems to speak directly to the reader.
The big theme: falsehood
The word Holden uses most is phony, the false, the impostor. He sees falsehood in almost all adults: empty politeness, vanity, convenience. This refusal is, at the same time, his lucidity and his illness. Holden wants an authentic world and doesn't find it, and so he wanders aimlessly.
What's underneath
Underneath the rebellion there is mourning. Holden's younger brother, Allie, died of leukemia, and the wound never healed. Much of the character's anguish is his refusal to grow up in a world where children die and adults pretend that everything is fine. The title of the book comes from exactly this wound.
The novel dialogues with a whole lineage of characters in crisis, from Kafka to Dostoevsky. To delve into this tradition, see our recommended readings.
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See recommended readingsFrequently asked questions
What is The Catcher in the Rye about?
About three days in the life of Holden Caulfield, a sixteen-year-old teenager who, after being expelled from high school, wanders alone through New York before returning home. It is a portrait of adolescence, grief and refusal of the adult world.
Who wrote The Catcher in the Rye?
The American J. D. Salinger, who published the novel in 1951. It was his only novel, and its success led him to a life of almost total isolation.
Why is the book so famous?
Because it gave voice, for the first time in such a raw and intimate way, to the confusion of adolescence. Generations of readers recognized themselves in Holden, and the book became a modern classic, both beloved and censored.
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