Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

78 reviews

kimib79's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-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

I deeply hated Holden to begin with and then it sunk into pity. He is pathetic, depressed, awkward boy who tries to be cool by cussing excessively and talking about sex. That said, he did say a few funny things and a couple poinient things. It's a quoteable book. "Sleep tight, ya morons!"

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Grief, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

sarahexe's review against another edition

funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Death, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Sexism

lipka's review against another edition

reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

(Maybe one day I can finally put into words how this book makes me feel.)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Grief

Moderate: Mental illness, Alcohol, and Child death

Minor: Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexism, Sexual harassment, and War

grizzlysnack's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-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

4.5

Based on the years of people telling me this book was terrible or it sucked, I believe it's because they didn't wrap their mind around the fact that this book is supposed to show you some form of empathy.

We're shown 3 days of 16 year-old Holden's life, and the text is trying to make you feel empathetic towards him, who is struggling with the loss of his innocence. Almost everyone can relate to that.

Salinger has a unique prose when it comes to Holden's perspective and how Holden sees the world. I think that those who dislike The Catcher in the Rye either couldn't grasp the idea of putting themselves in someone else's shoes when they read through it, or were expecting a completely different type of writing (like I said, Salinger's writing style is meant to be distant from the reader, it's what makes Holden relatable).

Holden Caufield has been treated so poorly by the 'adult world' that he is making terrible decisions to get the attentions of people who couldn't care less about his well-being. I think that's where the message gets blurred, and what leads to those poor reviews of the text.

Overall I think that The Catcher in the Rye is a wonderfully written novel, coming from a 19 year-old who never read it in high school (where/when most people read this book). If you're in the mood to reflect on a fictional character's life instead of worrying about the action that is happening, this would be a perfect read for you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Moderate: Child death, Grief, and Sexual assault

Minor: Pedophilia and Homophobia

risemini's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Grief, Child death, Sexual harassment, Cancer, Death, War, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood

crunchylightbulbs's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Grief, and Alcohol

raccooonhands's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Mental illness

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Homophobia, Ableism, Transphobia, Cancer, Suicide, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Child death, and Bullying

Minor: War, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Forced institutionalization

melancholymegs's review against another edition

reflective sad 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Grief

Moderate: Alcohol, Child death, Cancer, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Dysphoria

Minor: Classism, Racial slurs, Racism, and Suicide

hippejulia's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Suicide, and Grief

Minor: Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, and Mental illness

cranedphoenix's review against another edition

reflective sad 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

3.75

Somewhere between 3.75 and 4 stars

Holden is just such an unenjoyable character than halfway through the book I start hating how phony it is (little joke there)

I get he's supposed to be depressed and all but damn like

he's clearly depressed never got over his brother dying and has had pedophilic encounters multiple times in his life which yes no wonder he's how he is

it's just not written in an enjoyable way and ik people will argue depression isn't enjoyable but whatever 


It was a nice enough read in that I like when the character is the focus but it ultimately feels like it goes nowhere especially the ending

like oh boy Holden got institutionalized big whoop

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Child death, Grief, Racism, Suicide, and Misogyny

Minor: Pedophilia