🏷️ Spoiler Policy
Reviews on The Muddled Reader are spoiler safe by default and focus on mental health themes rather than plot. Any post containing plot spoilers is clearly marked.
Review through a mental health lens
Book details
Title: The Catcher in The Rye
Author: J.D.Salinger
Date Published: July 16th 1951
Pages: 277
🍀 Why I Picked This Book
I’ll be honest, I picked this book for a very morbid reason, I am Beatles Obsessed and I read about John Lennon’s killer leaving it at the scene, declaring it as his statement and motive. “That’s a deer shooting hat”, “Like Hell it is”, “This is a people shooting hat, I said”, “I shoot people in this hat”.
🌈 Overall Feeling & Vibes
This book made me feel really sad for the misunderstood 16 year old Holden Caulfield. As the mum of a 16 year old teen myself, and as someone that HATED being 16, I felt myself full of empathy for this wittering, confused, lost soul. Holden is a ghost, floating around post war 1940’s New York, and the city couldn’t feel more chaotic, fake and lonely, despite it’s busyness. Much like Holden himself.
🧠 Mental Health Themes Present
🧵 Unprocessed trauma
🧵 PTSD
🧵 Sibling loss
🧵 Suicide (contains discussions of suicide ideation)
🧵 Lonliness
🧵 Identity
🧵 Fear of growing up
🧵 Perceived inappropriate adult behaviour toward a minor
🧵 Emotionally distant parents
💥 Moments That Hit Hard
Where do the ducks go in the winter when the lake is frozen solid? This really bothers Holden. The ducks always return in spring so they must be ok right? Holden’s life at this point is full of unwanted change, this analogy really works here. He is questioning whether he will survive the harsh elements of transitioning into adulthood.
“I know he’s dead! Don’t you think I know that? I can still like him, though, can’t I? Just because somebody’s dead, you don’t just stop liking them, for God’s sake – especially if they were about a thousand times nicer than the people you know that’re alive and all.” Holden has so much unprocessed trauma and here we are in a time where you can’t talk about it, especially if you’re male. Keep calm and carry on. Holden holds on to so much repressed anger. When he was 13 he slept in the garage and broke all the windows with his fist “just for the hell of it”, except it wasn’t. He was calling out for help and didn’t know how to express his pain.
👥 Who Would I Recommend This Book To
If you are the parent to a teenager I would certainly recommend reading this. This story reminds us to check in with our loveable balls of mixed emotions and uncertainty. We never really know what they are going through, remember being 16 yourself, well for me it truly sucked! On the outside, people wouldn’t have known this. I was the quiet teen, always with her nose in a book, but screaming on the inside. This book reminds us to be kind to ourselves and our mini adults that we are blessed with the responsibility of. We’ve all been 16 right, so I would actually recommend everyone read this.
📝 Final Reflections
This is the story of that horrible time we all go through, teetering on the tightrope between childhood and adulthood. Wishing you could go backwards, but you have no choice but to tiptoe delicately across the rope to an unknown destination.
🌿 Comfort / Distress Balance
Emotionally heavy: 💔💔💔💔💔(I just wanted to scoop Holden up and let him vent about the death of his brother and his school friend, tell him it will be ok)
Hopeful elements: 🌤️🌤️🌤️(Holden’s relationship with his sister is beautiful and provides hope for his future)
Comfort read potential: ☕
Overall Book Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐