"Catcher in the Rye" was decent but  I felt overrated, haven't read anything else by him... and then the guy either ( accounts differ) became a recluse somewhere in New Hampshire or turned into James Earl Jones and decided it might be a good idea to catch fictional baseball games featuring the great  1919 Series throwing White Sox team with the beneath hackdom actor Kevin Costner

Mythmaking aside, he's just not that good a writer, particularly of novels.

He short fiction is better, but its still nothing special.

i first got exposed to salinger from reading catcher in the rye. and sorry about sounding like a broken record, but it is an amazing book. - the reason (in my opinion) that this book appeals to so many people is because holden is a real character. i mean, after i read the book, i wanted to meet this guy. and that is rare in books nowadays. well, i'm not saying good characters are few and far between, because they aren't. but to have a character like holden, where he would be an interesting person to meet, THAT is rare.

Showed pretty good writing chops with his short stories and "Catcher" was a solid and outside-the-box novel for its day, but the writing potential remained unfullfilled... Salinger is more famous for going batsh!t and becomming a recluse. I'm suprised he's still living - say, has anyone checked on him recently?

Salinger has gained lots of notoriety, much of which in my opinion isn't justified. Catcher in the Rye was his only major literary work outside of some short stories he had written. Personally, I didn't find Catcher all that compelling. Obviously this was Salinger's intent, but the story lacked strong progression in the classical sense. The values it promulgated was the type espoused by many rebels without a cause. Maybe it's that I'm not a big fan of existentialism in general, but I simply didn't find his analysis of society pursuing shallow values of consumerism and celebrity all that compelling or even rigorous.

The Catcher In The Rye is always going to be a classic. But, Salinger does shine elsewhere. His Nine Stories is fantastic, and should be better known that it currently is. Teddy (the last of the nine) is the best, in my opinion.

Catcher in the Rye remains a classic in American literature because it successfully captures a type of adolescent/post-adolescent existentialist angst that generation after generation can evidently readily identify with. To many, so much of the adult world seems like a cruel and superficial place, as it clearly does to the teenage protagonist in Salinger's story. In this sense the novel shares the same biting cynicism of Plath's Bell Jar - that our society is chock full of phonies (Caufield's favorite term), yet all the while, not knowing whether it is indeed possible to trancend into genuine adulthood without also inheriting this distinctive social trait.

Overrated. Plus, what else did he write? Holden was a geek who created a lot of his own problems. Catcher wasn't a bad book by any stretch of the imagination, but I can't believe it's regarded as a classic. The literaty geeks have spoken. . .

Very fine writer indeed; as far as I know he is still alive (what is this rumor of a suicide? --somehow I don't think he would follow in Seymour's steps, as enchanting as it would be to think he would). I think he captured dialogue better than any other living writer, and I think he is best in his short stories: Teddy, De Daumier Smith's Blue Period, and A Perfect Day for Bananafish are my favorites. The last one is particularly rich.

He wrote my favourite book! How could you not like him? It's sad to see that he commited suicide. I think Holden was really Salinger. Nonetheless though, this man had incredible talent in writing. The Catcher In the Rye is the best book ever, and it's themes are paralleled by today!

I suffered through Catcher in the Rye.And never understood what was interesting about it.Or for that matter what the point was.

The Catcher in the Rye is a pretty solid book, very progressive for its time, and interesting in that it addressed a topic that no one had ever gotten to in any substantial fashion before. The problem with this book is that if one reads (or, even better, re-reads) it after reaching the age of 30, the reading experience is gravely reduced from the impact this book makes on one if read at say, age 17. Franny and Zooey was a decent book, but nothing spectacular, yet the short stories might be where this guy shows himself the best. The problem with Salinger is that his canon is so small so it's difficult to gauge the scope and depth of the man's talent, and when one compares him to other American writers with similarly modest oeuvres, like Nathanael West, John Kennedy Toole or Ralph Ellison, JD doesn't seem as impressive. Because he essentially walked away from his literary career at its peak and remained such a reclusive figure for decades, Salinger benefits from a celebrity that most people stupidly confuse with literary reputation.

Only for one book?

Wiggum said it best...Catcher touches a raw nerve in the American public that eludes all but a few American novels. With a work like Catcher in the Rye in your canon, no other body of work is needed. He's not one of my top 5 or even 10, but deserving of a 5, he is.

Genius. Holden Caulfield is every adolescent in this country at this time, and I think everyone should read it. It's a riveting story that never lets go of you. I read it at least once a month, and it's always fascinating and fresh. How did Salinger touch such a raw chord with American youth? He did what those in authority never could...he understood us.

Whilst I enjoyed reading "Catcher In the Rye," and commend his prose style, I found myself disturbed by its lack of plot. I realize that "stream of conciousness" is considered to be an "art form," but it is a form I have never been too fond of. Still, I would (and have) read it again. There is something compelling about little Holden afterall...

I have read Catcher in the Rye three times and still cannot figure out why the censors go after it time and time again. Okay, so Holden Caulfield swears a lot. Big deal. My only problem with that book was how boring it was. But still, Salinger is a good writer and he has my deepest sympathy. The censors think his book is a vampire and keep driving silver stakes through its heart. Anyone who agrees that the censors are totally missing the point, raise your hand.

Good... His only work that really brought him any acclaim was "Catcher in the Rye," and while it was good, I don't think that that alone is a reason to give him five stars. It obviously strikes a chord with a lot of people, which is great, but I think it's slightly overrated. I've heard a friend joke that he can't bring himself to like the book that Chapman was carrying when he shot John Lennon, but then again, he's never read it all the way through. I liked it... but I don't think I liked it as much as everyone else seems to.

Catcher in the Rye pandered to my adolescent instincts. I gotta thank him for that. Please explain to me why it's a classic. Don't get me wrong, I like it better than half the classics out there. All the mystery about him makes him more appealing than other writers.

overrated

I thought Frannie and Zooey was a very entertaining view of upperclass coming of age of a brother and sister who were geniuses. This is just one example of how great he was.

Catcher in the rye .....helped me through adolescence....It was my bible in High school....this one Book helped mold me as an adult....for one book to have such an impact on my life makes Salinger a great author if not my favorite

It amazes me that a single short book like "Catcher in the Rye" can have such a profound impact. Salinger wrote almost nothing else of lasting value (yeah, some of his short stories are OK, but they aren't classics), and yet he is consistently rated as one of the most popular U.S. authors ever. It's very easy to argue that more prolific American authors (e.g., Twain, Hemingway, Fitzgerald) should be revered above Salinger. But it's impossible to dispute the simple truth that "Catcher in the Rye" touches a raw nerve that eludes all but a few other modern novels. And Salinger's mysterious personal life makes him an even more interesting character. His status as a recluse is legendary. And I have yet to read a good analysis of Salinger's feelings about Eastern religions. It's clear from "Catcher in the Rye" that he has been influenced by Buddhism, but critics don't seem to write about that very much. Also, I'd be very curious to know if it's true that he's been writing and hiding manuscript after manuscript since the publication of "Catcher." What a scene it would be if we suddenly discover that Salinger has written 20 unpublished novels...

J.D. Salinger Catcher in the Rye...one of my favorite books.

An exceptional realistic author.

To me it wouldn't matter if J.D. Salinger hadn't written anything prior to or after Catcher in the Rye - I would still give him a 5. I try and make a point of reading this book every couple of years; and yes, I understand a little more each time I read it.