Highly Overrated!

As so many other young American high schoolers were, I was assigned to read The Catcher in the Rye. I had heard good things and my teacher had said this was considered an influential book. As I began reading I found a very whiny, angst-filled boy lacking adult direction. As the book continued little change. Holden annoyed me and I do not feel bad for him. His fate was of his own doing and whining about it doesn’t help the situation. I feel like this book gave a lot of people the feeling like they had the right to complain about life without actually doing anything to change it. I will say there were a few poetic parts. The writing wasn’t bad I just did not relate to the characters well. Honestly I wished Holden had seen a worse fate. Maybe the point was to dislike him but if so, it was lost on most people who read this book. The hype the book receives definitely does not help. Do not go into this book thinking it is going to change you or help you to define yourself. In my opinion Holden is one of the most unlikable characters in literature and if you managed to get through high school and college without being forced to read this book, don’t waste your time. If you do decide to read it take it all with a grain of salt. It’s not a terrible book but it’s about a person who makes his own existence terrible.