I think Holden is a child that was failed by the adults in his life.  The adults in his life either failed to see that he had issues or saw him as an easy target to abuse.  I feel for him there, because he is a victim.  

I also think he sucks as a person.   He assaulted Jane when she was in a very uncomfortable situation that he recognized.   He is insufferable, thinks he is genuine and smarter than so many others when he id do fake.   And the lack of applying himself frustrates me beyond end, especially because of the access to wealth he has.

He does have some pockets of compassion, but I don’t believe he has the skills to truly nurture them.   I think he perpetuates the cycles he endured, which doesn’t help anyone.

 I hope he got the help he needed, but I honestly question if he really does. 

I read this book when I was in high school because I heard of the notoriety.  I hated the book so much.   And over a decade later, I decided to give it another shot.   And I did catch things I missed in my first read through, it doesn’t positively change how I feel about the book.  I think you can have interesting conversations about the book, like about how patriarchy fails men too, how child abuse and molestation affected Holden to be who he is now.   You can talk how our systems failed him and so many children even today.   But I think it would be a disservice to call it a story of rebellion when it was just a kid trying to avoid the problems in their life.

Salinger's masterpiece is an absolutely hilarious, and yet simultaneously grim, take on the life of the American teenage boy. I found it exceptionally enjoyable to read and, at times, somewhat applicable. The book follows Holden Caulfield as he grapples with his life while running around New York City, and the protagonist's narration is both witty and brutally honest.

Leider ist das Buch wirklich sehr abfällig. Erst verabredet sich die Hauptfigur mit jemandem an einem Ort und dann regt er sich zwei Kapitel lang darüber auf, dass er die Person und den Ort nicht ausstehen kann. So geht es eigentlich die ganze Zeit und das ist sehr anstrengend. Außerdem braucht diese Figur wirklich dringend Hilfe.

I’m not completely sure how to rate this. I enjoyed it, but I can’t tell if it was just the themes and things we talked about in class, or if it was the actual book itself. Anyway, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. My parents generally dislike it, so I was fully prepared to suffer through it and hate it. But it actually wasn’t half bad! I felt some sympathy for Holden (red flag?) and his experiences. I am one of the people who doesn’t think it’s the most amazing book I’ve ever read, but not the worst either. The main reason why I felt sympathy for Holden was his mental health and his past. I also struggle with some mental health issues, so that part definitely helped me sympathize with him. The complaints I have about this books are that nothing actually happens, he’s sexist, and he’s homophobic. The Catcher in the Rye tackles some deep issues and weaves them into both metaphorical and straight to the point ways. There are some trigger warnings though, so if these things trigger you, you might not want to read it.

A couple notes about the TW: the sexual content is him talking about how some girls are attractive and how he’s never had sex before, grief plays a big role in the book, and sexual harassment is implied.

Absolutely delicious, if you’re into introspective and complicated characters. I devoured this book.

Thought provoking but not really enjoyable for me. The character has a distinct voice that gets into your head (and to quote his sister, “stop cursing so much”)
I definitely looked up some study guides to help with analysis a little bit. This seems like it’d be fun in a lit class or book club but maybe not just for a fun read