" Reverse Flow of Sorrow " was accused of plagiarism, but in fact, this was a controversial issue. According to some critics," A River of Sorrow " did indeed draw on other literary works in some ways, including " The Catcher in the Rye " and " The Great Gatsby." These references could be seen as plagiarism because they make the novel very similar to other known works. However, there were also critics who felt that the storyline and character creation of " A River of Sorrow " were unique to its own style and characteristics, so it could not simply be regarded as plagiarism. This issue was still controversial, and different people had different opinions on whether or not " A River of Sorrow " was plagiarized.