Summary
This follows the main character, sixteen-year-old Holden Caulfield, for a couple of days after he is once again kicked out of school for his failing grades. Knowing that he has a couple of days before his parents receive the notice, Holden decides to wander around the town. The story ends up unfolding over a weekend, starting on a Saturday and ending the following Monday afternoon.
Thoughts
First of all, I can’t write this review without talking about the style. From the start of the first paragraph to the end of the last line, Salinger’s style never stopped annoying me. This is because he decided to write it from the subjective viewpoint of Holden, who, as I said, was a teenager in the ’40s. Thus, the story is written in the lingo of a teenager from the ’40s. This means that all the things that you would typically do to write well are thrown out the window in favor of keeping the narration somewhat similar to how a teenager would actually talk. The overall effect is, as one book critic put it, “like mainlining castor oil.”
Beyond the writing style, we have Holden himself, an accurately portrayed teen, and I related to him as such. At times, identifying with him, and at other times, really wishing I could take a break from being around him.
On both of those levels, the book was not always an enjoyable experience, yet managed to keep me invested. The ambivalence caused by the book created this loop where I was always interested to get to the next “thing” and see what Caulfield was about to inflict on my psyche. It was like one of those toxic relationships where the people keep breaking up in spectacular fashion, just to get back together the next day and do it all over again. There were some really beautiful moments scattered throughout the book, like, for example, the explanation for the title of the book—no spoilers, but it is one of my favorite moments in the book.
In spite of everything, I found this book entertaining through its entirety. It does a great job of encapsulating teenage “angst” (one of my least favorite words, and how I knew Coldplay was headed for destruction) and overall refusal to participate in society. It does not really offer a resolution but offers a companion to those who feel alienated by society. I must confess some confusion as to how it is often considered to be in the top 100 best English novels of all time. But, I really do look forward to someone who enjoyed it more enlightening me on this.