One-sentence summary: A 16-year-old boy roams around New York City for a couple of days after getting kicked out of school and shares the details of his inner thoughts about the people and situations he encounters before being sent to a sanatorium where he is recounting these events.
B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 6
Our favorite thing about it: Some of us were interested in the way Salinger portrayed the themes of the book and the insights into an adolescent mind.
Our least favorite thing about it: Several of us were put off by the negativity of the main character and narrator and the repetitive foul language among other things.
Main Topics of Discussion: Innocence, Childhood, Loss, Adolescence, Cynicism, Change, Alienation, Loneliness
Our favorite quote: "Among other things, you'll find that you're not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You're by no means alone on that score, you'll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You'll learn from them - if you want to. Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It's a beautiful reciprocal arrangment. And it isn't education. It's history. It's poetry."
Notes: First of all, it should be noted that our opinions varied greatly on this book, but by in large, it was not a favorite. Those of us who didn't care for it thought it was negative, boring, and hard to read in the sense that the story had no compelling movement. Those of us who liked it slightly better did so because they thought the writing was top-notch, the themes poignant, and the message interesting. For those folks, the book was also a very fast read.
As for the themes, we discussed the main character's (Holden) repulsion to a loss of innocence in children. This was the basis for the title, which comes from Holden's incorrect memory of song lyrics. He envisions himself the "catcher in the rye" in which he "catches" all the children running in a rye field before they fall over the precipice to their death, which symbolizes their loss of innoncence. He idolizes two important children in his life...his sister, Phoebe, and his late brother, Allie. He identifies with them because they are children and not "phony" adults. Holden finds fault with every adult or peer he discusses. He is incredibly cynical about their motives and actions. As a reader, his constant talk about how "phony" everyone was got old.
Holden also aggressively fights against change of any kind, which sort of mirrors the theme of losing innocence. He talks about a museum as a symbol of a static world where nothing changes inside. The only thing that changes is the museum-goers, who are never able to stem the tide of everyday changes in their lives.
Ultimately, because Holden is afraid of the adult world and all that it means to him, he builds a wall around himself and refuses to get close to anyone. He alienates himself with his talk of "phoniness" and remains lonely because of it. Again, to those of us who enjoyed the exploration of these themes by Salinger, we thought he displayed them carefully and cleverly within the story.
We also discussed the fact that Holden uses foul language a lot. He is the narrator of the entire novel, so most of us were tired of his swearing before the book was over.
Memorable Meeting Moments: Well, this "meeting" took place during our trip to the lake house, so we were on the porch in the evening enjoying the outdoors and the view.
What We Ate: Before we discussed the book, we ate a quick dinner of pizza and salad after our trip to the lake house.
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