I first read Catcher in the Rye in 2001 when I was 22 years old. That year, I read a book every week and 95% of them were classics (that’s what I had access to). Because I read so many of them and because I had an infant son at the time, there are some books that I simply don’t remember. I wasn’t blogging or writing down my notes in any way. Catcher in the Rye is one of those books that fell victim to not sticking in my memory. I’ve known for awhile that I needed to reread it, and the recent Catcher in the Rye Readalong gave me the push to do it sooner than later.

So what’s the book about? Nothing, plot-wise. Don’t look for a plot in this book. Catcher is all about Holden Caulfield, a depressed, “angsty” teenage boy who can’t get himself to make an effort to do anything. He floats alone without any motivation and winds up wherever that takes him.

In some ways, I can understand Holden’s point of view. To him, the world seems pointless and meaningless. Sort of a younger version of Camus’ The Stranger, actually. I know what he means. I personally hate social conventions that require you to behave in certain ways. I’ve hated that since I was old enough to recognize it. Most people grow out of that rebellion against the status quo, but I guess I haven’t. I understand why those customs are necessary now, but I still go against the norm. Holden sees all this pointlessness around him and doesn’t understand it, nor does he want to. It repulses him. But he also doesn’t want to change it. He just…floats.

Honestly, the book made very little impression on me. I ended up skimming big long passages because I was bored and wanted it over quickly and I imagine I did the same thing 9 years ago. I didn’t get anything out of this read and in a few years, I probably won’t remember the book any more than I remember it from my 2001 reading. It apparently slipped my memory really bad because I didn’t even recognize parts of the book when rereading. Normally with a book I’ve mostly forgotten, I’ll at least recognize bits, but in this? Nothing.

Would I have liked it more as a teenager? Maybe, but I don’t think so. I preferred a slightly more absurd/surreal viewpoint on this subject (hence my love of The Stranger), or a more emotional version. This was halfway between and I think that’s why it doesn’t stick in my brain.

Note: Review date is only an approximate of when this book was read/reviewed in 2010.

Note: Originally read in 2001.