JD Salinger

The reclusive author JD Salinger has died aged 91. His novel, The Catcher in the Rye, lent a voice to the angst and despair felt by generations of rebellious teenagers.

Even though he was one of the most admired and influential US writers following the success of Catcher and its anti-hero, Holden Caulfield, Salinger published nothing after 1965 and had not been interviewed since 1980.

Salinger still wrote, but there has been no sign of any new book and in a rare 1980 interview with the Boston Sunday Globe, he said: “I love to write, and I assure you I write regularly. But I write for myself and I want to be left absolutely alone to do it.”

Salinger.Org

If you are revising The Catcher in the Rye you might enjoy Salinger.Org.

Salinger sues

JD Salinger, author of the acclaimed American novel Catcher In The Rye, has gone to court to try to block the publication of an unauthorised sequel written by a fan calling himself John David California.

The reclusive 90-year-old writer claims that 60 Years Later: Coming Through The Rye infringes his copyright, and is suing for damages from its author and publishers.

The new book is dedicated to Salinger and features Mr C, a character apparently based on Holden Caulfield, the rebellious teenage hero of Salinger’s classic 1951 novel. He is portrayed as a 76-year-old escapee from an old people’s home.

Read more on Times Online.

The Catcher in the Rye – External Aspects

If you are looking for information about the novel The Catcher in the Rye here is an interesting site. Hit the link and you will be taken to a site that comprises material from outside the novel itself – what might be called external or extrinsic approach/criticism. It may include anything from the biographical background of the author to other works of fiction or non-fiction that somehow relate to the novel.