Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - The Catcher in the Rye

Unfortunately I do tend to like male manipulator books but I liked this, I think it gets way too much flack for what it is. I know people hate Holden but that kid is so funny. He’s also dealing with a lot of trauma and alienation that he doesn’t know how to process and I really felt for him. I will say that there is a lot of misogyny and homophobia, but I expected that going into it so it didn’t really bring my rating down because it didn’t catch me off guard.

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bexi's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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thewritetofight's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The ending was more like a cliffhanger in the sense that it wasn’t an end all be all, but it was very good

I found it very interesting how they implied towards the end of the book that Holden was abused sexually, you don’t see that often in books or any forms of media about boys

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diana_raquel's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

"Don't tell anybody anything. If you do, you start missing everybody.”

Partially published in serial form between 1945–46 before being novelized in 1951, The Catcher in the Rye is considered to be one of the best modern American novels. It follows the events in Holden Caulfield's life for a weekend after being expelled from his boarding school. Originally intended for adults, it is often read by adolescents because of its themes of alienation and angst. It also deals with complex issues of innocence, identity, belonging, loss, grief, connection, sex, and depression.

I think that this is one of those books that you have to read in a certain mood or at a specific time in your life (teenage years). Maybe because I'm not in the right mood or in my teenage years, this book did nothing to me. It's a "meh" to me. I know that Holden isn't intended to be a likable character but I just roll my eyes because he can be very annoying. Most of the time, I was just "Grow up already!".

I liked the writing style and even with my annoyance with Holden, I have to say that he is the perfect example of an unreliable narrator. But, alas, it is still a "meh" to me.

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