World

Catcher in the Rye and Bananafish Author JD Salinger Dies

by Christina 123 | January 28, 2010 at 01:52 pm

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Jerome David Salinger has died aged 91 at his home in New Hampshire. Creator of the character Holden Caulfield, whose perception of the world as being full of "phonies" touched a chord with a whole baby-boomer generation, followed by Gen X and still sells well today.

His short stories, such as, For Esmé - with Love and Squalor were accomplished and intellectual. His younger brother who died young, and who drives the character Holden Caulfield in Catcher in the Rye appears earlier here, in A Perfect Day for Bananafish, which first appeared in The New Yorker in 1948, and remains one of his best works. Salinger's short stories were typically deep, intellectual and philosophical.

As one of the world's best known recluses, many would-be biographers beat a path to his door, which resulted in strange half-bios, such as In Search of JD Salinger. His daughter recently joined in, writing a lurid biography of her father, which would not have pleased him.

Salinger was born in New York of a Jewish businessman father and a Scottish-Irish mother and grew up in Manhattan.

In 1953, he bought a house at Cornish, New Hampshire, and retreated into seclusion, giving a rare and final interview in 1980.

Last year, Salinger took legal action to block the publication of a book by a Swedish author - 60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye - that was billed as a follow-up to his classic novel.

He has taken legal action to protect his copyright on previous occasions, but has never appeared in court. He has also refused filming rights for his story.

His three subsequent books - including Franny and Zooey - were all best-sellers.

But no new Salinger fiction appeared after 1965 and he has done everything possible to try to thwart the efforts of biographers.