Name of the Author: J D Salinger
No. of Pages: 277
Year of Publication: 2010 (Republished edition, first published 1951)
Publisher: Penguin
About the Book:
The book is a first person account of the chief protagonist, a young man named Holden Caulfield. Dropping out from an exclusive private school, Caulfield describes the events of the few days that he spends in moving out of his hostel and finally reaching home. The novel is descriptive as Caulfield narrates his indecision in simple things such as making a phone call or deciding which place to travel to. His attempts at developing transient heterosexual love bonds has also been described, along with the close relationship that he shares with his younger sister. The language heavily relies on colloquial words popular at the time the novel was written.
A large part of the narrative focuses on his sense of alienation, existential angst, and meaninglessness in life. I found it significant that he is able to take a decision not based on sermons and words of advice by his mentors, or parents, but by the love and innocence of his little sister. It ends suitably abruptly without any details of what happens to him subsequently, highlighting the meaninglessness of it all. However, he drops many hints at being ill, seeing a psychoanalyst and subsequently going back to school.
Favourite Quote:
“I mean how do you know what you’re going to do till you do it? The answer is you don’t. I think I am, but how do I know?” (p. 277)
“Don’t ever tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.” (p. 277)
Final Analysis:
It is a fairly easy read. However, like all existential literature, it borders on being depressing. I think I would have related to it more if I had read it during my teenage. The novel doesn’t really have a story. So it is not for you if you are looking for mysteries and twists and turns.