it's not just overrated, i think it's actively terrible. holden is a horrible person narrating his story as if he is always in the right, and he refuses to make any attempt at meaningful change while constantly pushing away everybody who offers to help him. it fails as a "coming of age" novel because there is no act of "growing up"

19

I appreciate it as a challenge for the reader. Like, “Hey see this miserable person who hates everything? This is what you look like.” Def gets better after a few reads

5

Whoever said that it “fails as a coming of age novel” completely missed the point of the story. It was never intended to be that and it’s kind of the point. Just saying.

3

Personally I loved it (sorry). I think the issue is that people think the main character has to be likeable and undergo growth but that’s just not the case. Holden to me while not likeable is very sympathetic (CSA survivor, grieving his brother, and without any real parental figures) and it’s interesting seeing him take a lot of bad lessons from his childhood and try to apply it to the world growing up. It’s a pretty defeatist book, but I don’t think that makes it bad

2