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niisound's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Having never known anything about this book, except of its legacy as an assigned reading in high schools, I didn't know what to expect. But I definitely didn't expect it to be a mostly mundane glimpse into the goings on of a jaded, depressed, and annoying teenager. Holden feels like a real person with all his flaws and somewhat relatable perspectives, but there's little impact at the end of this coming-of-age story. He's just a run-of-the-mill, angsty, egotistical kid. You can argue all you want whether he changed or not at the end, but Salinger gives the reader almost nothing to ponder or feel.
sheilareads_'s review against another edition
3.0
“… someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It’s a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn’t education. It’s history. It’s poetry.”
This is the third time I've read Catcher in the Rye. I read it twice previously, in middle school and high school, and both times I thought it was the best book I had ever read.
Now that I'm an adult, I'm not sure what it was about the novel that I found so fantastic. Holden’s woe is me, poor little rich boy act irritated me greatly. I like a good “anti-hero”; characters that lack positive traits and what-not. But he’s just so purposeless. When he did something or thought about doing something I just did not care. His sporadic digressions about the most random topics soon grew tiresome as well.
In high school, I read some of Salinger's other stuff, and I definitely need to reread them again. Salinger’s writing was much more complex in those works, like in Nine Stories and Franny and Zooey. If you don’t like Catcher, read his other stuff.
The book is a classic for a reason. It was revolutionary for its time, and readers of all ages still read and study it today (everyone should definitely read it imo).
This is the third time I've read Catcher in the Rye. I read it twice previously, in middle school and high school, and both times I thought it was the best book I had ever read.
Now that I'm an adult, I'm not sure what it was about the novel that I found so fantastic. Holden’s woe is me, poor little rich boy act irritated me greatly. I like a good “anti-hero”; characters that lack positive traits and what-not. But he’s just so purposeless. When he did something or thought about doing something I just did not care. His sporadic digressions about the most random topics soon grew tiresome as well.
In high school, I read some of Salinger's other stuff, and I definitely need to reread them again. Salinger’s writing was much more complex in those works, like in Nine Stories and Franny and Zooey. If you don’t like Catcher, read his other stuff.
The book is a classic for a reason. It was revolutionary for its time, and readers of all ages still read and study it today (everyone should definitely read it imo).
franklyryan's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
belleohara30_'s review against another edition
3.0
i liked the beginning of it because i thought there was going to be a plot, but then i realized it was just a bitter, misogynistic white man complaining about everything. i only give it three stars because i did enjoy the writing and it was funny at times, but it was also extremely boring at parts.
thanureads's review against another edition
5.0
This book was terribly complex, brilliant and a flaming pile of trash all at the same time. The perspective of the main character was very interesting. He is a very deeply depressed teenager, but the things he felt throughout the book, are what most of us feel on a daily basis, but amplified. In the book, you could feel his terrible need to want, to feel alive. He constantly craved stimulation in the hopes that he would feel anything. But, he somehow seemed to suck the life out of everything he encountered. One word he used a lot was phony. Everything was brilliant, yet at the same time, phony. If part of you could sympathize with him, you would have kept reading, and that's what I did. In the end it made sense, and at the same time it didn't. I had the feeling all along, there would be no real, grand conclusion. It just left a sad, and beautiful impact on me that i don't know how to process.
elliehamilton38's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
syd_a's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars I think. The plotlessness of this book was not my favorite. Just felt like pessimistic young boy’s slur of thoughts with no catharsis whatsoever. I liked the writing though