Book Review of "Catcher in the Rye" by Holden

J.D. Salinger. Catcher in the Rye. Boston, 1951
Holden Caulfield is the sixteen year-old narrator whose experiences form the action of the novel. He seems to have a history of expulsion and failure because of his inability to adjust to institutional life and the world in general. His recent expulsion from Pencey Prep and a series of other traumatic experiences lead him to an inevitable emotional breakdown. The Catcher in the Rye is a loosely strung set of incidents that are combined to reveal four days in the life of Holden Caulfield. The novel is periodic in nature, and the bulk of it is narrated in the form of flashbacks. The plot is also supplement with a number of digressions, which help to reveal more about the various characters, especially Holden.
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