Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

61 reviews

literaryinluv's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny reflective sad tense 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Cancer, Child death, Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Blood, and Suicide attempt

bexi's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gore, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

startjpw23's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

3.5

Although the main character was infuriating at times, I did like him overall. The book was a short, well-written, enjoyable book

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Sexism, and Violence

thewritetofight's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, and Alcoholism

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

diana_raquel's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Misogyny, Violence, Grief, and Alcohol

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

kathyovalle01's review against another edition

emotional inspiring 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Vomit

fjotried's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional fast-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

I read this at 18, so itnwas probably the perfect time in my life. There are probably problems with the text, but the emotional impact remains as effective as it was when it was published, and it definitely belongs on a list of books to read before you kick the bucket.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Sexual content

greenrequiem's review against another edition

dark 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, and Sexual content

Moderate: Addiction, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, and Violence

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Murder, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

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, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Child death, Sexual assault, and Grief

Minor: Homophobia and Pedophilia

krystaltyong's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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: Cursing and Mental illness

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail