The Catcher in the Rye
Salinger wrote the definitive novel of adolescent alienation — Holden Caulfield's two-day breakdown in New York became the voice of every teenager who ever felt like the world was phony.
“What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours.”
Why It Matters
Salinger wrote the definitive novel of adolescent alienation — Holden Caulfield's two-day breakdown in New York became the voice of every teenager who ever felt like the world was phony. The book has been banned, beloved, and obsessed over by millions of readers for seven decades. It proved that a novel narrated by someone on the verge of collapse could be both funny and heartbreaking.
Notable Quotes
“Don't ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.”
“I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It's awful.”