Adriana Motti Books

The hero-narrator is a sixteen-year-old native New Yorker named Holden Caulfield. After leaving his prep school in Pennsylvania, he spends three days navigating New York City. Holden is both simple and complex, making it difficult to draw definitive conclusions about him or his experiences. He is deeply drawn to beauty, almost to the point of being trapped by it. The novel features various voices—children's, adults', and underground—but Holden's voice stands out as the most powerful. His expression transcends his own vernacular while remaining true to it, delivering a poignant mix of pain and pleasure. Like many artistic souls, he internalizes much of his pain, choosing to share his joy with others. This emotional complexity is available for readers who can appreciate it. J.D. Salinger's classic tale of teenage angst and rebellion was first published in 1951 and has been recognized as one of the best English-language novels of the 20th century. It has faced challenges for its candid language and themes of sexuality, becoming a must-read for many teenage boys in the 1950s and 60s.

The Catcher in Rye is the ultimate novel for disaffected youth, but it's relevant to all ages. The story is told by Holden Caulfield, a seventeen- year-old dropout who has just been kicked out of his fourth school. Throughout, Holden dissects the 'phony' aspects of society, and the 'phonies' themselves- the headmaster whose affability depends on the wealth of the parents, his roommate who scores with girls using sickly-sweet affection. Lazy in style, full of slang and swear words, it's a novel whose interest and appeal comes from its observations rather than its plot intrigues (in conventional terms, there is hardly any plot at all). Salinger's style creates an effect of conversation, it is as though Holden is speaking to you personally, as though you too have seen through the pretences of the American Dream and are growing up unable to see the point of living in, or contributing to, the society around you. Written with the clarity of a boy leaving childhood, it deals with society, love, loss, and expectations without ever falling into the clutch of a cliche

This "tour de force" (New York Times Book Review) celebrates its 50th anniversary.

In een klein Duits vorstendom zorgt een prinsenkind dat te vroeg geboren dreigt te worden, rond 1840 voor verwikkelingen.

A Chandrapore, nell'India stretta sotto la morsa del colonialismo, si fronteggiano "Islam, un atteggiamento verso la vita squisito e durevole", la burocrazia britannica, "invadente e sgradevole come il sole" e "un pugno di fiacchi indù", in una silenziosa guerra fredda. Finché l'arrivo di una giovane turista inglese non viene a incrinare il fragile equilibrio. Perché Adela Quested, con stupore del clan dei sahib bianchi, non si accontenta dei circoli e delle visite ufficiali: vuole conoscere "la vera India" e trova la guida indigena perfetta nel mite e ospitale Aziz. Ma nelle grotte di Marabar la gita preparata con ogni cura si trasforma per Adela, vittima delle sue personali inquietudini o di un indegno affronto, in un dramma sconvolgente che arriva fino nelle aule di un tribunale, facendo esplodere pregiudizi, razzismi, contraddizioni. Lo scontro tra due civiltà agli antipodi per sentimenti e valori troverà anche la sua eroina inconsapevole: Esmiss Moor, Miss Moore per gli inglesi, figura simbolo di un'impossibile pacificazione. Il ritratto umano e poetico di un paese amatissimo si fa parabola della "segreta intelligenza del cuore" di contro alla protervia della ragione in quello che Forster chiamò "il mio romanzo indiano influenzato da Proust" e che è il suo indiscusso capolavoro.