Thursday, April 26, 2007

The Catcher in the Rye

I just finished reading “The Catcher in the Rye” this morning. “A cult book” as one of my friends calls it…
An absolute marvel…I am so glad I read it…..So I just had to write about it in my web space!!!

There’s hardly any point writing about the story as I assume I’m one of those unfortunate few to have read this book so late in my life (Boy! !!Do I sound old??!!).But the subtlety in the book’s fascinating…if you happen to get them…. that is….

Frankly speaking, I’ve never been intrigued by the “inner meanings” of many books. But this one was an exception. How a 17 year old’s interpretation of the world and its people could actually reveal the futility of the conventional norms of society is amazing!!

The protagonist, Holden Caulfield, hardly ever misses calling people “phony” (I suppose that’s the most frequently used term in the novel).His world almost collapses as he realizes his solitude and seclusion from most people in the world (except maybe his sister Phoebe).Apparently its just a teenager talking about few days of “freaking out” .The subtle meaning however, is indicative of how our world’s so pretentious and weird.

I thought the title was absolutely apt. It’s from a Thomas Burns’ poem containing these words whereby a catcher stands all day at the cliff “catching” any child who’d fall off the gorge. It explains Holden’s state of mind where he wants to protect a child’s mind from the atrocities of adulthood….or maybe his own self.

I strongly recommend this book to anyone who loves to read (and hasn’t already read it!!).I enjoyed the book and hope you do so too….

18 comments:

Impressionist said...

gah! I hate readin!
there is also a song with the same title "catcher in the rye" by GnR! :D
I luv it
hehehe!


Peace & Love
JeevY

Priyanka Sarkar said...

@rajeev:
hehe....i get tht....but th books more rocking than th song....
try reading if u r on a long journey or smthng!!!:D

Anonymous said...

i had read this book .This book is abt a loser and a loner (like myself)who tries to make acquaintances but ends up ruining it. So what are ur own views abt. such people (or losers :-))who desperately tries to build relationship with people (specially girls he he ;-))doing all sort of nonsense??Did u know that this book influenced the murderer of john lenon??

a blue eyed girl said...

hey priyanka this is one of my favorite books, glad you enjoyed it. :)

Phoenix said...

i ll look it up...nice analysis btw..:D

Priyanka Sarkar said...

@anon:
yes i do know abt th john lennon thing!!:)thnks for droppin in ur comments.

@blue eyed girl:
:D

@phoenix:
hehe...thnks..
do read it!!

Sharad Mathur said...

have to see the book now.

sharad

Shruti said...

Wow!! you provide anice review and i really want to catch it soon ..
I will search of this and as soon as i will get it, i ll make it finish too..
Im just addicted to reading..
Take care..

Priyanka Sarkar said...

@sharad:
go get it;)

@shruti:
the book's become one of my favourites!!!and trust me i don't let that happen easily!!:)
thnks for stopping by!!:D

devips said...

Priyanka, am ashamed to admit that I am yet to read this book. But you have made me want to read it. That says something about your blog, does not it? Keep blogging!

`NEFTY said...

Never read it so if I see I'll think about reading it;]

Keshi said...

Sounds like a pretyy good read to me. ty for this review. will try n get it if I can.


**..is indicative of how our world’s so pretentious and weird.

I always sensed that..this world is 'phony'...its just that we refuse to believe that.


Keshi.

Priyanka Sarkar said...

@deviprasad:
thnks kaku!!!coming from u,tht sure is a compliment!!:D
keep visitng my blog!
@nefty:
do read it!:)
@keshi:
my pleasure:)
yeah this world, i feel,is gettin phonier(if thrs a word as tht...lol) by the day!!!dont u agree?

Keshi said...

hehe yes there is a word like that - slang it may be but its there :)

Keshi.

insane freak said...

oh i love this book, its my absolutr fav :)
i love the significance of the title, ah, beautiful! n the relationship he hares with his sister, something just so right there!
btw, try "to kill a mocing bird" too, if u havent already. strongly recommend :)

= rich

Priyanka Sarkar said...

@rich:
Glad you share my views:)
"to kill a mockingbird" is one of my all time favs!!!I love the book!!
keep recommending good books.....:D

Winged Fantasy said...

Hey nice review. :-)

Honestly, I didn't like the book. The too casual language puts me off. I still read it because I cannot leave books half-read. In the entire thing he keeps on saying how "he could have puked at everything", and yeah how everything is "phony". Though if one was to critically examine the book, yes it does dig deep into the superficiality of the society and the mood-swings and non-chalant attitude of youngsters. And I loved the way he feels for his little sis. That was I think the best part of the book.

Keep writing. Cheers!

Anonymous said...

You could go for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Really nice book.