The Catcher in the Rye – J.D. Salinger (1951)
A defining novel of teenage alienation and rebellion, The Catcher in the Rye follows Holden Caulfield, a disenchanted 16-year-old who wanders New York City after being expelled from prep school. Through Holden’s cynical yet vulnerable first-person narration, Salinger captures adolescent angst, societal hypocrisy, and the longing to protect innocence (symbolized by his fantasy of being a “catcher in the rye” saving children from falling off a cliff). The novel’s frank language and themes of identity, loss, and mental health sparked controversy but cemented its status as a literary classic.
If You Appreciated This, Try:
- A Separate Peace (John Knowles, 1959) – Another prep-school novel of youth and disillusionment.
- The Bell Jar (Sylvia Plath, 1963) – Female-fronted psychological realism.
- Franny and Zooey (Salinger, 1961) – More Glass family existential crises.
