Table of Contents

Introduction Part 1: Texts and Contexts Salinger: Life and Works. Post-War America: Society and Culture. Catcher and Censorship. The Catcher in the Rye: Detailed Discussion Part 2: Critical History Unbalanced as a Rooster on a Tightrope: Reviews on Publication. One of the Loneliest Characters in Fiction': The First Wave of Criticism (1950s and 60s). Poised Between Two Worlds: Criticism of the 1970s and 80s. 'A Classic American Hero?: Criticism from the 1990s to the Present Part 3: Critical Readings Masculine Protest in the Catcher in the Rye Sally Robinson Holden Caulfield is not a Person of Colour Renee R. Curry Queering Catcher: Flits, Straights and other Morons Pia Livia Hekanaho Trauma, Mourning and Self-(Re)Fashioning in The Catcher in the Rye. Dennis Jonnes Digressing from the Point: Holden Caulfield's Women Clive Baldwin Part 4: Further Reading and Web Resources

About the Author

Sarah Graham is a lecturer in American literature at the University of Leicester. She is particularly interested in 20th century American novels and poetry, especially in relation to sexuality, gender and trauma theory.

Reviews

'What emerges clearly... is the extent to which the Routledge guides demonstrate the value of historicised readings, without burdening the first-time reader with too great an emphasis on the material reality with which the featured authors engage.' - Rod Mengham, The Times Higher Educational Supplement'J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye is the perfect, concise introduction of this Cold War novel to the serious 21st-century reader.' - Alan Nadel, University of Kentucky