"The Catcher in the Rye" is the greatest portrait ever written

This is one of those books which has a completely different meaning depending on what time period of life you're in, specifically your interpretation of Holden. Imh-non-literary profession-o, of course.

Reading it in JHS and he felt like a kindred spirit.
Reading it in college and he felt like a whiney kid.
Reading it deep into adulthood and he just seems like a scared little boy, dealing with death and loss of innocence, suffering from numerous likely mental disorders. All I feel is sorrow for him now.

Reminds me of that old saying, something like, no one can come to the same river twice as by the second visit either the river's changed or they have.

Loved this book as a teen. I remember reading it over and over

I did my English paper on it too

I don't necessarily think lack of suspense is a flaw and I enjoyed the pacing of the book.

I think a big reason why people dislike certain books is because they're expecting the book to fill a different niche.

If you pick up Catcher And The Rye looking for something gripping and fast paced, it'll let you down. If you want to follow a teenager's angsty meanderings through NYC, it's the perfect book.

Honestly, when I first started the book I was actually looking for something "big", I was wondering if it would appear sooner or later.

I continued reading the book and I forgot about what I was expecting at the very beginning. I started wondering where the ducks go when the water freezes. And I felt like I know Holden Caulfield. I felt like I know him more than anyone at that moment. I do agree that all the other characters are phenomenally portrayed, but Holden, as Salinger wrote it, was the most transparent and complete character I have ever come across. His exaggerations, his tiny details, his memories and feelings and above all, his perception of the world and people in his world, sometimes the passers by - everything is so perfect that I can never stop admiring this amazing work.

I don't know if it has any actual flaws or not, I can never be a critique but a blind admirer if anything.

Um yeah... about that last point... lots of the readers that hate the book are doing so because they agree with you on how accurate the book is in depicting a teenager

I've heard people say that Holden is a narcissist. I think they're mistaking narcissism with isolation.

I related to Holden because he's an isolated person doing his best to deal with it.

I think this is being overly generous and exaggerated.

Is there a sub for this book?

Don’t get me wrong, it’s one of my favorite books and I have the cover on my wall and all that but we have about 5 threads a day about tCitR. And they’re almost always by a person who just read it. And then the whole thread is debating “what the book means/is about”.

Maybe there’s a sub somewhere where people have general discussions about this book and other topics about it. Or maybe a Salinger subreddit? He has other books too, you know.

inb4 I’m downvoted and called a snob and “ur so close-minded!” for even bringing this up because that’s kind of the nature of this sub....

That’s a good way to describe the book. An portrait of anxiety. It was my favorite novel for years and I teach it now. It helps to maybe also notice the subtext of violence throughout and think about Salinger’s D-Day and war experience. He could have easily written A Farewell To Arms (which he satirizes in the novel) or a war book since he wrote this while in the army. But I had one of my students posit once that the schools Holden gets kicked out of are like branches of the military and the whole story is an allegory for an anxious soldier or infantry member going to war with the world.

I tried SO HARD to like this book, I forced myself through half of it, but there was absolutely no plot and the main character was just a rich, spoiled brat! Couldn’t stand it and don’t get the hype. This coming from someone who was a very angsty teenager and who still listens to angsty emo music from high school 😂 But he drove me crazy lol.

I guess. I thought it was decent enough YA.

I personally wouldn't call it vibrant or believable, but I guess I'm biased because I've actually been in Holden's position, so the emotional stuff was just dead in the water for me. It's decently constructed literature, but the construction of it takes out any punch at all and makes it just so hollow and dull as an emotional portrait.