Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Над пропастью во ржи by J.D. Salinger

82 reviews

greenrequiem's review against another edition

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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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sincerelyadah's review against another edition

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

4.5

At the beginning, I had a hard time “getting into” it, but as I read on, it became more and more interesting. Here’s a little review of it. (edit i’d give it more of a 4.5)

I feel like I have a lot of empathy for Holden. It’s really clear that he’s deeply depressed to the point that everything in the world depresses him even more. He’s hyper aware of how much and how often people pretend, or are being “phony.” And I think that is why most depressed him—at least as far as I can tell.

Holden also was probably abused or harassed (sexually) on at least a few occasions. When the whole thing happens with his old english teacher, he mentions how that kind of stuff has happened plenty of times before. And at the end, he seems to be with a psychoanalyst. I’m not sure what that means, but it all points to him being very traumatized. This further leads me to empathize with him.


Another thing I think the book really shows is how deeply Holden desires real connection. I think this is why seeing people be shallow and fake is so depressing. He wants so bad to have relationships that are real with people who are real. Especially romantically—
him with the prostitute definitely shows that.
I definitely understand that desire so another reason I empathize with him.

Moving away from the actual plot and characters towards the style, I want to mention the way Salinger writes. It’s not necessarily mind blowing, many have written books in the form of a letter, like Perks of Being a Wallflower. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not an enjoyable style. I really love the mystery, that we don’t know who he’s writing to, it adds something to the story as a whole.

And lastly, the ending. IM CONFUSED. Ill have to read some kind of explanation because even though I have my thoughts and theories, I don’t know if they’re right. If anyone does, please LMKKK

Anyway, that’s my review. I liked the book a lot. I wouldn’t say it’s absolute favorite but it’s definitely up there!
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grizzlysnack's review against another edition

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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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aylin05's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective sad fast-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

2.75

For this being a book i read for a school research paper i thoroughly enjoyed it. while at times i was a little bored hearing about random people Holden knew and brought up, i think that in retrospect everything made sense. at first i didn’t understand or even like Holden, but that honestly changed by the end of the book, which was super sweet. this book deals a lot with growing up and the difficult/ scary transition between childhood and adulthood and a lot of Holden just trying to find his place in the world. I’d definitely recommend. 
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krystaltyong's review against another edition

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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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ncason93's review against another edition

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reflective sad slow-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

3.5

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raccooonhands's review against another edition

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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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mengzhenreads's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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

4.0

This is one of those books people either absolutely love or positively hate, and I can really see why now that I've read it. Holden Caulfield is quite the asshole, and honestly if I met this guy in real life I would positively despite him. But, there are so many layers to his personality, and he is a great character to pick apart and analyze because he has so much depth. Great food for thought. 

Here's my favorite part of this book, this quote is just everything:
“Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around - nobody big, I mean - except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff - I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be.”
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mikaelaandherbooks's review against another edition

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sad medium-paced

2.0

This one just wasn't for me. I found it difficult to stay engaged in the story and felt sad for the main character.
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avareadsoccasionally's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny 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

I thought this book was really interesting to read. A lot of people don't like it because they don't like the main character. However, for me, I think not liking the main character is kinda the point. Holden is mentally ill with seemingly no one in his life who he feels as though he can trust/confide in. I think that by trying too hard to like him, people miss the point of the story and his journey with his mental health and relationships throughout the book. 
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