The Catcher in the Rye

Background

According to the American Library Association, this novel is perennially among the most banned books in America. In the 1980s Catcher was the most often banned book in high schools. Today, J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter books have replaced Catcher as having the most often banned distinction.

by J. D. Salinger

This is the quintessential novel about American teenage angst, frustration and attitude. Perhaps no other novel has so powerfully epitomized a young person's coming to grips with American society as Catcher. Holden Caulfield's disdain for America's concept of success, well-being and life is presented in his constant accusation that everyone is "phony." He has a fantasy that his life's mission would be that of a savior. He would be a "catcher" of lost people.

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Author J. D. Salinger and early edition
1951