Rest In Peace, J.D. Salinger
J.D. Salinger, legendary author of such classics as The Catcher and the Rye and Franny and Zooey died yesterday at the age of 91 of natural causes. He was in his remote house in Cornish, NH during the time of his death, where he lived for decades in a sort of self-imposed auscultation.
Salinger is responsible for the creation of one of American's most beloved rebels and antiheroes, Holden Caufield. I read The Catcher in the Rye many times throughout my life. I always found it a comfortable book to return to, whenever I'd be suffering from a reading drought. It was also one of the first books that I can recall truly speaking to me as a youth.
Let us take this time to remember J.D. Salinger and reflect in the comments below on what our experiences were reading his books.
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I lay a bag of frozen Bird's Eye peas on your grave, Jerry.
RIP. One of the greatest American writers of all time.
His canon is small but just about as good as they come.
Thanks for posting that, Dennis. I'll add my thoughts later. I feel like I lost a member of my family right now. I really do.
I've always loved his dedication from Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction
I recently read Seymour an introduction and really dug it. I didn't really understand it. But it has stuck with me.
Anyway, it sucks that he died but he seemed to have lived a full life on his own terms, which in these times, is a cause for celebration. And maybe there will be some posthumous releases?
What's up with this Easton Ellis Tweet?
Yeah!! Thank God he's finally dead. I've been waiting for this day for-fucking-ever. Party tonight!!!
What?? What an ass. I've lost all respect for him.
Adam, hell yeah, you're absolutely right; he did have a great long life, lived on his own terms. I still feel bereaved.
before i read "catcher," i thought i was alone. I guess all he did in his free time was write and there are tons of notebooks in his house. I'm sure it will take a few years, but there will be more material published by JDS.
Uncollected Sallinger
A Perfect Day for Bananafish is one of my favorite short stories ever.
And yeah that tweet was unnecessary. Hope he was being sarcastic.
RIP. Salinger was a great novelist.
The best article about JDS's death.
http://www.theonion.com/content/news/bunch_of_phonies_mourn_j_d
The best article about JDS's death.
http://www.theonion.com/content/news/bunch_of_phonies_mourn_j_d
Agreed, The Onion was brilliant with this one.
I liked the onion piece too, it was a fitting tribute.
The first time I read Catcher in the Rye, I was a senior in high school with my father, a Southern Baptist preacher, sick in the hospital. My mother had heard that through the church that this book was evil. When I got home from school, she had the book in her hand, led me to the backyard, and set it on fire. I remember standing there, watching it burn, her telling me that I had brought something evil into our house, something which caused my father's illness. I found another copy at the library, which I hid beneath my mattress. There was something redeeming about reading Salinger, some reassurance, and it gave me some initiative to question this world around me, question what the adults were telling me, and in many ways begin life as an adult--which meant leaving my family behind. Thank you, JDS.
Why is it such difficult to understand that it's obviously a passionnate reader's reaction, who hopes that Salinger's daughter gonna finally be able to publish all the material JD stocked selfishly in his safe?
I'm a Salinger big fan but yes, as Brett Easton Ellis, who never denied his total admiration and filiation to Salinger), I'm quite "glad" he died, for this simple reason.
(and please excuse my bad english, it's not my mother's tongue)
I took it hard.