Catcher in the Rye- The title itself comes from the lead character, Holden Caulfield, mistakenly thinking that the Scottish Ballad, (or originally poem, “Comin’ thro’ the rye” by Robert Burns) in fact had lyrics which went “Should a body catch a body, coming through the rye”. Whereas, the actual lyrics were, “Should a body meet a body, coming through the rye.”
Written in the distinct dialect of the youth in America back in the 1950s, ‘The Catcher in the Rye
The story is a narrative in the first person, as told by Holden himself. From start to finish it envelops the reader in the, more often than not, downs than ups of his existence.
It definitely does not make for very easy reading, but in a way that’s where I found the interest and intrigue to lie.
A young boy in conflict with practically every emotion he feels or person he encounters, endlessly searching for anything that isn’t, what he calls, “phony”.
This is an extremely thought-provoking read, and it makes you wonder about so many different things. Things we probably often think about, in a fleeting moment and then pay no attention to, offering our easy disregard instead.
It makes you wonder about ourselves- as human beings.
Are we all show-pieces, constantly show-casing ourselves?
Bordering on corny fakeness?
Are we all just living, unconsciously, for the occasional tender moments we spend with the people we truly love?
What do we really think of God and different religions? Really.
Holden, as he engages you in incidents that occur or have occurred as a result of the, often hasty, decisions he makes, opens a window to the world of a person on the verge of depression. It illustrates, in a way, the strength of our humaneness despite the state of mind or body we may be suffering through. And above all, it provides a sense of comfort to read and see that in all our loneliness and in all the rejection we may have to face from the world, there will still be people who care. Good people we love, who will love us back. We must always keep them close, because when our world falls apart, they hold the power to make it, if not entirely, partially whole again.
*Incidentally I’m on a John Mayer high (with the new album and all) and one of the latest songs by him is “war of my life”. It just struck a chord (literally) considering I was reading this particular book. Give it a listen! Good stuff.
6 comments:
Not much of a reader, thou i wanted to read this 1 since long. After reading ur review i think I will look around for this book. Hv read his Franny & Zooey, didnt enjoy reading it thou. As I said, not much of a reader.
Nice review la'
1 design suggestion - that shade Dark yellow on a Black background hits the eye real bad. IMO
:) thanks for the tip! didn't really realize.. and i should know better! :P...
will change it!
wohoo.....see i knew u would like it...and did u see he does mention 'the great gasby' in it??co-incidence??anyway..its always a treat to read ur reviews man...i think i got some pointers from here to help me with the book...i gotta study it na so this gave another angle to the story....awesome :)
:) you should review it too!! I'd love to read other perspectives... But yeah.. Its was so cool that I could relate to Gatsby "old sport" haha! :)
Btw, plec went nicely.. everyone loved what you wrote!
i really missed spmethin huh...i really wanted to be there just to see their reactions...anyway...ill probably do somethin after my exams now...need some time to come up wit a good review...lets see...
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