Zafar's Reviews > The Catcher in the Rye

This story is a brilliant snapshot of a teenage mind. Not only the author captures the colloquial habituations of the age, he effortlessly draws up a picture of a troubled, alienated and depressed soul; trying hard to connect and communicate.

Holden is an exceptional boy, who finds the world around him filled with deceit and falsehoods. He is not wrong, but he finds it difficult to get his mind around it. He yearns for a genuine human chord, and in his inebriated state, goes about seeking out almost strangers. His sister is the only one who understands him, and whose innocent gesture finally pulls him back from the cliff he was about to hurl himself from.

It was an emotional saga. The author describes the pangs of growing up, of sadness, and of loneliness. Holden longs for understanding, for someone who sees the world his way. It also is a satire on society and its norms; how they stifle exceptions and encourage conformity.

I read this book in about 6 hours at a single sitting. It did get a little drawn out in the middle, but I enjoyed it anyway.