Reviews

Над пропастью во ржи by J.D. Salinger

ldread440's review against another edition

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4.0

The Catcher in the Rye took me along for a ride for a part of Holden's life, raw and full of angst, with nowhere for his teenage intrusive thoughts or at times downright deplorable decisions to hide from the audience. I found myself laughing at times while guiltily relating to the inner monologue of a character that is generally unlikable by most standard measures, but I ultimately felt that aspect added to the book's enjoyment. 

komoderr's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

A bisexual boy goes through his own little odyssey and comes out okay on the other side.
I was deeply impressed with the emotions Holden exhibited and how wide his breadth of emotion was. I strongly related to his existentialism and his mental torment over the course of the novel.
I think the mental symptoms overflowing into actual physical ailment near the end really brought the book to what it had been building towards all along.
The characters Holden meets along the way were all unique and memorable, and worthy of the time spent on them in the novel. My only minor gripe is a lack of plot, because it can feel meandering at times, but that’s certainly (1) the point and (2) the best stylistic choice this book could’ve made. I also liked Holden’s speech patterns, minus the slurs.

in_search_of_an_exit's review against another edition

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2.0

Both overvalued as well as undervalued. Being a regular in english classes makes people resent it, and the unlikeable protagonist does not help. But The Catcher in the Rye is not uniquely horrible or bad down to just its themes. It is a perfectly passable character study which does not carry on past its welcome, but should it be a classic still studied in American classrooms to this day, probably not.

ambbf's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny slow-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

2.5

rivershere's review against another edition

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1.0

Awful

This was the most boring book I've ever read. It was basically just a spoiled brat of a rich kid who got kicked out of school and ran around town for a few days. There was no point.

mihikareads's review against another edition

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dark funny slow-paced

3.0

cullentron's review against another edition

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3.0

This novel has been one i've intended to read for some time, and the hype it has received is not undeserved. An interesting dynamic character who is realistic, and a plot line in a small time frame but full of interesting event. Definitely one of my favorite reads.

bethjoanne's review against another edition

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2.0

I think I understand it a bit more this time reading it.

kat305's review against another edition

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3.0

(grandmas copy) probably would have liked better in high school but felt repetitive and just not super excited about it

ladylibrarian's review against another edition

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1.0

Not a good book to read while one is already lonely or in a bad mood. Depressing. But now I've read it for the sake of reading it. How phony of me.