Thursday, January 28, 2010

J. D. Salinger (1919-2010)

His novel, "Catcher in the Rye", has inspired generations of teenagers, and was mentioned in Billy Joel's 1989 hit, "We Didn't Start the Fire". However, J. D. Salinger preferred to avoid the limelight, and was quoted as saying that he wrote for his own enjoyment, not for the masses, even though "Catcher" was a huge best-seller.

Salinger passed away earlier this week at the age of 91. If you were asked if you knew anything about him, chances are the only thing that would come to mind would be the tale of teen rebel Holden Caulfield that has been a must read for millions of youths over the years. Because Salinger opted for the life of a recluse, we'll never know for sure if there was more to his body of work than just one seminal, iconic novel.

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