Why is The Catcher In The Rye is my favourite book.

If you haven't read it yet, this book is about - don't worry I will try not include spoilers- a kid who gets expelled from his boarding school and tries to make his way back home. No, literally this is the whole story. But it is more than a brat walking around and nagging about absolutely everything, it carries a deep meaning that you won't get until you finish the book.

Holden Caulfield's (the main character) attitude tells a lot of his state of mind. He has a continuous careless views throughout the book, he's not in a good mood, he's not in a bad mood, he's neutral! When you tell a tale this long with little to no sign of emotion, it indicates depression. And trust me, I not only have read several books with mental illness background, but I also suffered from depression at a time in the past, I know how character is feeling! 

Holden doesn't get along with the kids at school, he has bad habits like smoking, drinking, chasing women etc and all this amplifies carelessness and in my opinion bad parenting. 

There is no character he has encountered without him describing that person as "Phony" which is kind of funny because Holden himself said he was the biggest liar in the whole world. Hypocrisy? You tell me. 

The only time when I felt Holden has a bit of human in him is when he talks about his little sister, Phoebe, the only character he connects with emotionally, which brings us to the title Catcher In The Rye, Holden misinterpretation believing Catcher In The Rye means saving children from losing their innocence by falling in a rye field, a metaphor of Holden's desire to save himself and all children from growing up into an adult world he sees as "Phony".

So, this brings us to my title, why is this book is my favourite? Because I like when I feel connected to the character. Don't get me wrong, I felt a lot close to many characters before but non of them made me want to dig deep into their worlds and to have a greater grasp to their lives like Holden made me feel. I'm so interested into someone's well being (which is why I chose Medicine as a major) but I also desire to learn more and more about a person's mental behaviour and The Catcher In The Rye inspired me to read more about the maze that is called the human brain.

Other books that have the same idea and enjoyed reading include:

• The Shock Of The Fall.
• The Bell Jar.
• It's Kind Of A Funny Story.
• Other Words For Love.
• The Outsiders.