The Catcher in the Rye

I admit I was at first a tad disappointed when recently I got to pick up the famous book “The Catcher in the Rye” by JD Salinger. 
I mean, here was this book, which had supposedly influenced countless teenage minds and had been enjoying an almost iconic fan-following for more than 60years now! All of 200 pages!

Having read it, however, I can assure you that it is a meaty 200pages volume, which does all justice to the 'hype' surrounding it. This, even in face of the absence of any worthwhile story and fleshed out characters.

The Catcher in the Rye is about a teenager Holden Caulfield who has been expelled from his prep school just before Christmas, ostensibly because he is not being able to keep pace with the system. 

The whole book is a first person narrative of Caulfield as to how he spends this brief interlude of some days before reaching his home. During this time, he perceives, comprehends and tries  to come to peace with his inner demons as well as the societal and peer pressures. 
I would rather describe this book as a window, which opens on two sides. On one side is a teenage mind, full of all doubts, tensions, angst, and sexuality, so typical of teens. On to the other side is his family, society and the world as seen through his mind’s eye.  

For me, the highly noticeable part of the book is of course its narrative and the language through which Caulfield talks to the reader very effectively. Surprisingly, even though the book was written around WWII, I did not find the style even so much dated.

I am cautious that writing anything more would probably take away the fun out of your reading. What I would only do is to insist upon you to get your copy and read it NOW! 
You might also like to read something about this book on one of my favorite blogs Kabaadkhaana.