The Catcher in the Rye

Name: The Catcher in the Rye
Author: J.D. Salinger (also rec’d by Kurt Cobain , Liz Phair & Philip Roth )

by J.D. Salinger (also rec’d by Kurt Cobain , Liz Phair & Philip Roth )

Probably my favorite book of all time because of the truthful, raw language—it sounds so modern. To think that it was written almost seventy-five years ago at the end of World War II seems both astounding and inevitable. Plain, honest communication and wild, spontaneous beauty were all that was left after they’d cleared away the rubble. Enter Holden Caulfield, an off-kilter personality balancing an unlikely mix of cruelty, kindness, truth, acceptance and rebellion in one rather average noggin...

Recommended by

Liz Phair

"Probably my favorite book of all time because of the truthful, raw language—it sounds so modern. To think that it was written almost seventy-five years ago at the end of World War II seems both astounding and inevitable. Plain, honest communication and wild, spontaneous beauty were all that was left after they’d cleared away the rubble. Enter Holden Caulfield, an off-kilter personality balancing an unlikely mix of cruelty, kindness, truth, acceptance and rebellion in one rather average noggin..."

Favorite books · radicalreads.com

Lenny Kravitz

"I reread this book before writing Let Love Rule . I first read it when I was younger, and the way that Salinger wrote Holden Caulfield’s voice has always stayed with me and was a big influence on how I wrote my book."

Favorite books · radicalreads.com

Kareem Abdul Jabbar

"I remember comparing Holden Caulfield’s experiences with my own…High school was an ordeal."