its the foremost american novel a modern classic.

by bushra
(mumbai)

it is one of those books that have to be read atleast once in the lifetime..but the amazing thing is i have yet to find a person who has not gone back to it yet again.

it is definitely an angst driven narrative of a 17 year old,who does not think much of protocol, and correctness..no wonder almost everyone he meets is a phony..
the highlights of the book are its narrative style, its peculiarly original language, but also the implications behind all that goes on in caulfields mind..
at the outset he is no more than an irresponsible teenager, callous about his grades , disinterested in his future..
as the book progresses it is evident that what the boy hates most is phonies, the hypocrisy of the world around him. his bluntness reaches its extreme when he writes the explanatory note to his history teacher in his exam paper.
his low regard for his brother DB who 'has prostituted himself to the movies' and his awe for his much younger sister Phoebe reveals his regard for straightforward plainness.
it is also an episode of a young mans exploration of his sexuality.american society with all its freedom has not helped Holden to come to terms with his physical needs.and very discreetly we are informed about the reason for this misfits idiosyncrasies lies in the loss of his brother Allie, which has never left his consciousness, so much so that he is still living his present with the past.