'Catcher in the Rye' author J.D. Salinger dies

[RBA]

'Catcher in the Rye' author J.D. Salinger dies



By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer © 2010 The Associated Press

Jan. 28, 2010, 12:10PM




NEW YORK — J.D. Salinger, the legendary author, youth hero and fugitive from fame whose "The Catcher in the Rye" shocked and inspired a world he increasingly shunned, has died. He was 91.
Salinger died of natural causes at his home on Wednesday, the author's son said in a statement from Salinger's literary representative. He had lived for decades in self-imposed isolation in the small, remote house in Cornish, N.H.
"The Catcher in the Rye," with its immortal teenage protagonist, the twisted, rebellious Holden Caulfield, came out in 1951, a time of anxious, Cold War conformity and the dawn of modern adolescence. The Book-of-the-Month Club, which made "Catcher" a featured selection, advised that for "anyone who has ever brought up a son" the novel will be "a source of wonder and delight — and concern."
Enraged by all the "phonies" who make "me so depressed I go crazy," Holden soon became American literature's most famous anti-hero since Huckleberry Finn. The novel's sales are astonishing — more than 60 million copies worldwide — and its impact incalculable. Decades after publication, the book remains a defining expression of that most American of dreams — to never grow up.


more at link http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/...l/6840095.html

[Caveat Emperor]

One of my least favorite books that I've ever read for any reason (be it work, school or pleasure). To this day I still cannot understand why it is praised so often. I've never wanted to reach into a book and punch a character quite as much as I wanted to with Holden Caulfield.

Still, a passing of an American legend is never a happy time.

[pedro]

Sad, I loved his writing.

[westofyou]

One of my least favorite books that I've ever read for any reason (be it work, school or pleasure). To this day I still cannot understand why it is praised so often. I've never wanted to reach into a book and punch a character quite as much as I wanted to with Holden Caulfield.

Still, a passing of an American legend is never a happy time.

I love it, it has all the markings of disdain for trappings of society and those who can't quite fit in.

Love it so much I stole it from my HS library, and it sits on the shelf in my living room, I've easiliy read it 5 times

[WMR]

Damn, a true living legend. RIP.

[RichRed]

RIP to the author Ray Kinsella took to a baseball game in Shoeless Joe, before he became Terrence Mann in the movie.

[Donder]

Catcher is my favorite book. I love the honesty of it. I first read it when I was about Holden's age and he voiced a lot of the things I was feeling.

[Betterread]

Salinger could create very compelling child characters. I read all his major works as a HS junior and senior and I remember it provided a valuable (even if a little dated) perspective on adolescence. Last year I reread Catcher and really enjoyed it in a different way at a different point in my life. The character and his voice are very distinctive and clear. Too bad Salinger didn't publish more during his life.

[WMR]

I'm reading that he may have as many as 15 unpublished novels that he kept in a safe. Wonder if any of it will see the light of day now.

[Joseph]

I'm reading that he may have as many as 15 unpublished novels that he kept in a safe. Wonder if any of it will see the light of day now.

Certainly hope that happens. None will have the impact of Catcher, but still could be some quality work since he was writing only for himself and not an audience that both loved and hated him.

[redsfandan]

Was there really that much hate for the guy?

[Scrap Irony]

Catcher in the Rye was my favorite novel when I first read it at 15. I memorized a bunch of Holden's speeches and began calling anyone I didn't like a "phony". In college, me and a friend wrote a song from Holden's POV which we played just about every time we got together to drink or play in a bar.

I re-read the novel about three years ago and I thought Caulfield was perhaps the biggest whiner in the history of literature. (A bold claim, especially after Bella in the Twilight series.)

[nate]

Gone to a land without phonies.

[westofyou]

"Among other things, you'll find that you're not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You're by no means alone on that score, you'll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, s...ome of them kept records of their troubles. You'll learn from them - if you want to. Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It's a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn't education. It's history. It's poetry."

- J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, Ch. 24

[cincinnati chili]

I'm reading that he may have as many as 15 unpublished novels that he kept in a safe. Wonder if any of it will see the light of day now.

At least one of his kids hates his guts and would love to make a buck off of these unpublished novels. We'll see how his estate provides for control of the unpublished books.