The Catcher in the Rye
- 240
- Pages
- about 4.5 h
- Reading time
- Le Monde's 100 Books of the Century
- 20th Century's Greatest Hits: 100 English-Language Books of Fiction
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Our view
Almost nothing happens here: sixteen-year-old Holden Caulfield talks us through a few days of his life, and the talking is the point. His voice is funny, sharp and more wounded than it lets on. Readers who want a plot, or who hear only complaining in Holden, may find it slow going. It suits anyone willing to listen to a narrator rather than follow a story.
Worth knowing Holden Caulfield first appeared in short stories Salinger wrote in the 1940s, before this 1951 novel. Salinger never allowed a film, and he later insisted on covers without illustrations, which is why most editions look so plain. For decades it was both one of the most taught and one of the most challenged books in American schools. An official e-book appeared only in 2019, nine years after his death.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Catcher in the Rye is a 1951 American coming-of-age novel by American author J. D. Salinger. It was partially published in serial form in 1945–1946 before being novelized in 1951.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.2 across 4,307 ratings. With that many, the reader vote carries 97% of the weight and the score stays at 7.2 — the Classics average of 7.7 barely moves it.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 7.2 | 406 | 9% |
| Hardcover | 7.2 | 3.9K | 91% |
Frequently asked
How long is The Catcher in the Rye?
It has 240 pages — shorter than 60% of the ranked books in Classics.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Classics — with scores between 7.1 and 7.3, closest to this book.
