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cjvphd's review against another edition
4.0
I see the appeal. Boy, I really do. If I had read it when I was fourteen I'm sure it would have affected me differently, but reading it at 37 was still worthwhile. The prose is goddam annoying, and in 2018 it almost makes Holden sound like a lousy phoney. Boy, he would think that's terrible. Terrible.
In any event, the novel's themes are as relevant today as they were in 1951, and the visceral notion of a 16-year old prep school exile let loose in NYC as he (potentially?) suffers some sort of mental break is quite compelling. Holden's relationship to family, especially his sister Phoebe and the interwoven memories of his brother Allie, stands out as a high point.
So there are some curse words and Salinger doesn't come off as very amenable to homosexuality...it's now 2018 and we know better. Get over it, people.
In any event, the novel's themes are as relevant today as they were in 1951, and the visceral notion of a 16-year old prep school exile let loose in NYC as he (potentially?) suffers some sort of mental break is quite compelling. Holden's relationship to family, especially his sister Phoebe and the interwoven memories of his brother Allie, stands out as a high point.
So there are some curse words and Salinger doesn't come off as very amenable to homosexuality...it's now 2018 and we know better. Get over it, people.
dunnadam's review against another edition
5.0
I love this book, it's one of my favorites. I just finished another book I compared to Catcher in my review and thought to myself it had been 20 years since I last read Cather. I thought I should re-read it to see if I still remembered it accurately.
"He was one of those guys that think they're being a pansy if they don't break around forty of your fingers when they shake hands with you. God, I hate that stuff."
The king of hyperbole, I identify so much with Holden.
"But my parents, especially my mother, she has ears like a goddam bloodhound. So I took it very, very easy when I went past their door. I even held my breath, for God's sake. You can hit my father over the head with a chair and he won't wake up, but my mother, all you have to do to my mother is cough somewhere in Siberia and she'll hear you."
I love the wording, the language still feels fresh and new 75 years later. This is the original teen angst book that started the ball rolling for generations of copy cats.
I think this also may have been the first book I read that dealt with homosexuality.
Fuck you.
"He was one of those guys that think they're being a pansy if they don't break around forty of your fingers when they shake hands with you. God, I hate that stuff."
The king of hyperbole, I identify so much with Holden.
"But my parents, especially my mother, she has ears like a goddam bloodhound. So I took it very, very easy when I went past their door. I even held my breath, for God's sake. You can hit my father over the head with a chair and he won't wake up, but my mother, all you have to do to my mother is cough somewhere in Siberia and she'll hear you."
I love the wording, the language still feels fresh and new 75 years later. This is the original teen angst book that started the ball rolling for generations of copy cats.
I think this also may have been the first book I read that dealt with homosexuality.
Fuck you.
jlamb2016's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
z0ha2's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
fast-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
5.0
guts_'s review against another edition
5.0
I never read The Catcher in the Rye for school, I swear to God. People get sore on this goddamn book on account of this and the assertion that Holden is a "rich, whiny teenager", and therefore undeserving of sympathy. Dismissing Holden as an angsty teenager is how everyone else in the novel treats him for chrissakes. Perhaps it reveals too much about me but I deeply related to Holden's struggle to find authenticity in an inauthentic world even as an adult. I hate it when people get all personal and sappy in their goddamn reviews, I really do. So I will just say this: a truly great novel changes you, even if its in a small, seemingly insignificant way. You see the world or yourself a little bit differently when you close the book. I truly believe that. This book reminds me to seek out meaningful human connection even if it seems impossible sometimes. I swear to God I will.
abby_dabby's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
thisisthelion's review against another edition
4.0
Lo protagoniza un adolescente que no encaja en ningún sitio y que anda bastante perdido en la vida pero tiene mucho proyectos de futuros y que no se corta un pelo a la hora de expresar su opinión. Me sentí muy identificada.
a_little_marko's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mayagrace99's review against another edition
emotional
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
2.75