Reviews

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

zmull's review against another edition

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5.0

"Finally, though, the jerk noticed her and came over and said hello. You should've seen the way they said hello. You'd have thought they hadn't seen each other in twenty years. You'd have thought they'd taken baths in the same bathtub or something when they were little kids. Old buddyroos. It was nauseating. The funny part was, they probably met each other just once, at some phony party."

hunger's review against another edition

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I was hesitant to read The Catcher in the Rye because I had heard it was such a controversial book. And, well, if there’s any book that can illustrate the change of mindset we have from the previous generation, it might be this one. I expected from The Catcher something obscene, taboo, outrageous; instead I found a story that is very tame in all these regards. Another reason I had my reservations, was that the protagonist has a bad reputation in pop culture, it’s often on the list of ‘red flag books’ for people to like. I didn’t love Holden, but I did feel sorry for him, most of all because I feel he’s so mis-characterized in the popular psyche! 

The following recent Tweet was what made me finally want to check this story out for myself: Why is Catcher in the Rye a red flag for me? It's not an automatic no, but I just can't relate to "whiny suburban white boy problems". Sorry not sorry. (Also, I'm not minimizing mental health issues, I'm neurodivergent myself, the book is just off puting/childish to me.) 

SPOILERED REVIEW PART
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Whiny suburban white boy problems! Now that is certainly a way to describe it. There’s something ironic about a novel wherein a young boy is constantly ignored by every adult and capable person around him, written off as a do-no-good’er, then sinks into a depressive episode, as ‘whiny’. Holden is no Saint. He flunked out of four high schools and it’s clear that he has no interest in academics. But here is also a boy — who I actually find to be quite empathetic and perceptive — who is still healing from his younger brother’s death, who is dealing with his own feelings of insecurity and place in the world, who’s so afraid of his parent’s disapproval that he near freezes to death to avoid going home, who then, in desperation, turns to an old teacher of his, only to then be near-molested! 


Our dear Holden is really insecure (give me one person who wasn’t at sixteen!), and he has a touch for the melodramatics: he finds everyone a phony, he doesn’t much like girls if not for their attractiveness, he’s especially uncomfortable in his skin (he’s tall but lanky, and he can’t measure up to the other boys). But he’s also really empathetic, and I find it strange that so little people touch up on this, as I find it to be rather clear in the novel. He picks a fight with Stradlater because (and this is my interpretation) he believes he took advantage of a girl, he constantly thinks of his late little brother, he tries to console Jane when she is visibly troubled by the presence of her dad, he hires a prostitute but then can’t have sex with her because he is sickened by the idea, he really worries about the ducks in winter. He exhibits a sense of empathy where he feels like no one in the world cares (). He wants to run away, but in the end he decides against it because his little sister begged him not to. In the end, he decides to try to get better. I find that to be really mature actually. 


Once a novel catches the wind of the masses it’s quite hard to reel it in again. I don’t figure JD Salinger meant for The Catcher to become so momentous or so controversial. The novel is in my modern mind really not all that taboo or unique for that matter, if not for the knowledge that a non-reliable, non-likeable, and morally grey narrator was truly out there at-the-time. Well, remind me to never trust popular opinion on a piece of media again! 

ilsimisi's review against another edition

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

2.75

nataliaivonica's review

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1.0

1.5

i’m too old to deal with holden’s superiority complex. i’ve dealt with too many of those in real life, thank you very much.

_eda_'s review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

avue's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

ilveu's review against another edition

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informative reflective sad medium-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

3.75

marielln's review against another edition

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reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

2.25

arcyeus's review against another edition

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4.0

A disillusionment with the superficiality of society that I sorely identify with at this moment. Holden is great as a character who on the exterior appears to not give a shit but deep inside is lonely and seeking a deeper meaning though not being able to find it. One cannot help but develop a sympathy for this character.

smuds2's review against another edition

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4.75



This book absolutely should not be taught in high school. How is it taught in high school? why is it taught in high school? UGH.

Let's get the prose out of the way. It's bad. Yeah. It's effective at what it does. but man is it jarring. It is truly impressive how grating it is - just like a 16 year old boy. I was constantly oscillating between "damn did you have to do us like this JD" and "wow this is working so well". I feel confident in saying, for the book, it was a good decision, but I wish there was an alternate version of this book that didn't have that prose (the sort ofs, the christsake, the a little's, etc). But then, I guess it wouldn't be this book.

Story wise - it is just so incredibly sad. A boy with so much potential who is constantly failed again and again by adults - adults who don't listen, or if they do listen, tell him what he should think instead of listening to what he thinks. Adults who scare him. Adults who offer him nothing but condescension for genuine curiosity and righteous anger at why society and people are the way they are. A boy who is asking the questions explicitly TELL HIM TO ASK but then get annoyed when he does ask. A system that tells him to be a critical thinker, but as soon as he critically thinks, in earnest, he gets shouted down.

Then the kids his age, constantly failing to talk to him on his own terms and develop genuinely meaningful connections with him. They're refusing to engage with his ideas as well, opting instead to take the easier path. They aren't at a spot where they can quite talk down to him, but they all, basically, say "you're no good for where i want to go". It's just genuinely heartbreaking.

All of this with the backdrop of a teen who just isn't given any support for processing his little brothers death. Who has been, on more than one occasion, acquainted with death. Who has seen a boy fall to his death and told he his falling as well.

It is really an incredibly sad and relatable story. I think if this book were either not forced down kids throats, or were taught in a way that was more significant than "he loves innocence", we wouldn't have this manosphere epidemic we have now. Holden EXPLICITLY calls it out - 70 YEARS AGO!!!! WHY are you working towards a new car??? WHY  are you not meaningfully connecting with women??? WHY do you only care about what your career makes others think of you???

I get frustrated just thinking about it.