Many people know of J. D. Salinger's passion for privacy. The author, who lives in Cornish, New Hampshire and is now 90 years old, has not had a new story published or given an interview in decades. Salinger is protective of his short stories and his one novel, Catcher in the Rye, which made our list of 10 Books to Read before You Die. Few of his stories have made it to the big screen, and you will not find recorded book editions of Salinger's works.In the 1980s Salinger fought the publication of a book In Search of J. D. Salinger by Ian Hamilton, which quoted extensively letters Salinger had written over the years. Salinger won that suit, and the book was later published without the quotes from his letters. Now, Salinger is fighting the publication of a novel by John David California called 60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye. In this book an elderly Holden Caufield-like character named Mr. C. escapes from a nursing home and roams the streets of New York in a story reminiscent of Catcher.
To read further about this dispute check this article from the New York Times and another piece from Publisher's Weekly.
Just to update this post, J.D. Salinger won his suit to prevent publication of 60 Years Later. This decision is being appealed and a number of library groups have filed a brief of Amici Curiae in favor of publishing the novel. For further information, check the brief at:
ReplyDeletehttp://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/system/files/Salinger%20Amicus%20Brief%20%28filed%29.pdf