J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye: A Routledge Study Guide

Sarah Graham

Jun 2007 · Routledge

About this ebook

J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye (1951) is a twentieth-century classic. Despite being one of the most frequently banned books in America, generations of readers have identified with the narrator, Holden Caulfield, an angry young man who articulates the confusion, cynicism and vulnerability of adolescence with humour and sincerity.

This guide to Salinger’s provocative novel offers:

• an accessible introduction to the text and contexts of The Catcher in the Rye
• a critical history, surveying the many interpretations of the text from publication to the present
• a selection of new critical essays on the The Catcher in the Rye, by Sally Robinson, Renee R. Curry, Denis Jonnes, Livia Hekanaho and Clive Baldwin, providing a range of perspectives on the novel and extending the coverage of key critical approaches identified in the survey section
• cross-references between sections of the guide, in order to suggest links between texts, contexts and criticism
• suggestions for further reading.

Part of the Routledge Guides to Literature series, this volume is essential reading for all those beginning detailed study of The Catcher in the Rye and seeking not only a guide to the novel, but a way through the wealth of contextual and critical material that surrounds Salinger’s text.

Ratings and reviews

I see they have no books by J.D Salinger! Not even the most famous book of all time. All these books are interpretation of the "catcher in the rye" not the actual book by the original author. So sad!

Really glad I read the review before I bought. I want the book. . JD Salingers book.. Not someone's interpretation. .. ugh frustrating... again thanks to the reviews I didn't buy so I'm not out anything except my hope's!

If people read the full title they would realize this is only a guide and not the actual book, just saying kind of dissapointed though that there is not one single copy I can buy to read on my phone

About the author

Sarah Graham is a lecturer in American literature at the University of Leicester. She is particularly interested in 20th century American novels and poetry, especially in relation to sexuality, gender and trauma theory.