The Catcher in the Rye

If I had to give the novel The Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger a rating based on a five star scale, I would give it a three. If I were not in a good mood I would probably lean more towards giving it a two or a two and a half, but I think a solid three stars suits it. In some ways I did not like the book very much, which is why I did not give it a higher rating. I liked how it was written in first person, so it was like hearing first hand everything that was going on. The thing the bothered me the most was the use of words that were said by the main character, Holden Caulfield. I understand that it was supposed to feel as if he were speaking to you, but his grammar made me so mad sometimes. I am definitely not trying to say that all teenagers have perfect grammar and pronunciation, because honestly most have the opposite, but his was a little bit on the ridiculous side. How many times was he going to say “and all” in the book? Was he trying to beat a world record or something? I think that J.D Salinger was trying to make a believable character, which he most certainly did, but his believable character was an unbelievably annoying character. If his choice of words, grammar, and language would have cleaned up a little bit, I would have no doubt in my mind that I would have enjoyed the book more. I probably would have given it a four or four and a half star rating. Really, it was his speech that got to me. The story was great “and all,” but Holden got on my last nerve. I am the type of person that gets annoyed very easily, and while Holden pushed all of my buttons, I saw past it enough to enjoy the story and decide that it deserves a three star rating.