Modern Language Association

"On July 16, 'The Catcher in the Rye,' by J.D. Salinger, will turn 75. Commemorating such a nice big number would surely strike its adolescent hero, Holden Caulfield, as the absolute nadir of 'corny,' but maybe we could use a little corn, as the data centers invade our farmland."

75 Years Later, ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ Remains a Great American Novel Sure, “Catcher in the Rye” has its detractors. But the influence of its wised-up yet winningly innocent hero keeps it among the Great American Novels.