J.D. Salinger (1919 – 2010)

One of the giants of American literature passed away in New Hampshire on Wednesday 27th aged 91. Its believed he didn’t suffer although cause of death has not been announced

Although J.D. Salinger books are many he will always be remembered for The Catcher in the Rye originally published for adults  later became a hit with adolescent readers for it’s themes of alienation and rebellion.  

Salingerwas also an intensely private man who shunned the limelight living his latter days as a virtual recluse.

J.D Salinger’s Early Life.   
                                                

Jerome David Salinger grew up in the fashionable apartment district of Manhattan, New York. He was the son of a prosperous Jewish importer of Kosher cheese.  .
In his childhood the young Jerome was called Sonny.
School was a restless time for young Salinger at times finding it hard to fit-in. 1934 he was sent to Valley Forge Military Academy , which he attended for 2 years. His friends from this period remember his sarcastic wit.

In 1937 at the age of eighteen , Salinger spent five months touring Europe. From 1937 to 1938 he studied at Ursinus College and New York University.

His first great love was Oona O’Neill, whom he wrote letters to almost daily. So it came as great shock to him when Oona married Charles Chaplin the comedian who was thirty three years her senior and had been married three times before.

In 1939 Salinger interest in writing was peaked when he took a class in short story writing under Whit Burnett, founder-editor of the Story Magazine.

During World War II he was drafted into the infantry and was involved in the invasion of Normandy. Salinger’s comrades committed on his wit and bravery.
During the first months in Europe Salinger managed to write stories and in Paris meet  Ernest Hemingway.
He was also involved in Hürtgenwald a particularly bloody battle and where the young Salinger witnessed the full horrors of war.

Salinger was hospitalized for stress and after recuperating he decided to dedicate his life to writing

In 1945 he married a French woman named Sylvia – she was a doctor. They were later divorced and in 1955 Salinger married Claire Douglas, the daughter of the British art critic Robert Langton Douglas. The marriage ended in divorce in 1967.

Salinger wrote many short stories between 1940- 1951  many appearing in newspapers and glossy magazines such as  Collier’s, Saturday Evening Post, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan
He also wrote articles about Buddhism something he had become passionate about.

J.D. Salinger books

In 1951 Salinger published his novel The Catcher in the Rye
, an immediate popular success although it opened to mixed reviews.
Originally written for adults soon became a hit with the younger generation that could warm to its themes of alienation and rebellion

It’s estimate to have sold around 60 million copies and is still going strong.

The run away success of the book was a blessing and a curse, as public  scrutiny intensified Salinger became a virtual hermit and published work far less frequently.
Catcher in the Rye became the only full length novel he ever published However In (1953) he published a collection of novella (short novel) called Fanny and Zooey and in (1961) he wrote two novellas, Raises High the Roof Beam Carpenters and Seymour. In (1965)
Salinger published his last work another novella entitled Hapworth 16 1924  which appeared in The New Yorker in (1965)

J.D. Salinger Later Life

The rest of his life Salinger lived as a virtual recluse but unwanted attention still dogged him, including a legal battle in the 1980s with a biographer Ian Hamilton and in the late 1990s two people close to him, an ex-lover Joyce Maynard and his daughter Margaret Salinger combined together to write a book of memoirs opening Salinger to further unwanted public scrutiny

The last time Salinger hit global headlines was in June last year after filing a lawsuit against another writer for copyright infringement resulting from the writer’s use of one of his characters from Catcher in the Rye

Conclusion

J.D. Salinger dies aged 91, there will be many lengthy obituaries written about the great man but he will be remembered foremost for two things “Catcher in the Rye” and for been an intensely private man.
Salinger was only 32 when “Catcher in the Rye” was published in 1951 and it seems he lived the next 60 years trying to hide from its long shadow.

If you wish to buy any of J.D Salinger’s books then this is the best place online.