I recently re-read this renowned classic and I didn’t like it the first time and my opinions have not changed since and here’s why
- Holden is annoying,
- He’s judgmental, I mean he just goes around making assumptions about everyone and everything and thinks of himself as a saint.
- He’s unreliable- the whole novel he keeps saying “If you wanna know the truth” but are you really telling us the truth Holden really?
- He’s unrelatable. The thought that people can empathize and understand this guy just, is beyond me.
- There is no plot to the book. Countless times I have asked myself “where is this going again?” oh that’s right nowhere, it’s just a boy who gets kicked out of school and mopes around in New York. Seriously.
- It’s difficult to interpret– I see myself as quite adequate when it comes to deciphering metaphors and the message of the book and whatnot, but this book just, it’s so obvious but not obvious in the message it’s trying to get across about the whole “growing up” thing I don’t know.
- People think all teenagers are like Holden, this book has become such a huge symbol of youth culture that many people I’ve come across are under the impression that all teenagers are like Holden. Which is NOT TRUE. I’m a teenager and I am not like that boy
- The book is too mundane. I mean the author just describes Holden catching the train, or Holden in his hotel room throughout the whole novel and as a result
- It’s too boring
- I had to read it for school. I mean if that isn’t reason enough to hate it I don’t know what is
Those are my reasons. Remember these are my opinions, if you did like the book try and convince me in the comments!
Infinity Reads 
That’s a lot of hate! I like The Catcher In the Rye, but I am not going to attempt to convince you. My only argument is that I don’t think that narrators have to tell us the truth. I think sometimes it’s more fun when they don’t…
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I personally didn’t like the book much either, though I generally enjoy the stuff I read for school. The unreliable narrator is actually a literary device I found interesting, so in the first four chapters I thought it might be a really interesting, interpretive read with lots of character development.
Except, there was no character development. Or plot. He literally just “mopes around New York,” as you put it, for the whole book, being obnoxious and judging people and being hypocritical and never learning any lesson or having a big event change anything. The book has no point. The premise is the best thing about the book, but the actual read is a waste of time.
So I agree with you, though I think that if everything you said was just the beginning of the book that would actually super interesting. But it’s the whole book, my goodness. I agree with your opinion!
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