J.D. Salinger the author of best selling novel “The Catcher in the Rye” has died in his home at the age of 91. His son Matt has reported that he died a natural death. He enjoyed excellent health for almost 90 years. He was living in isolation in his Cornish home.
J.D. Salinger was born on “new year day” in 1919 at Manhattan. His father was a polish Jew and his mother was Irish. He was interested in acting from school times and started writing stories in the school magazine secretly.
He attended the “New York University” and “Ursinus College in Pennsylvania” but left his studies later he got enrolled in an “evening writing class” at “Columbia University”. His teacher Whit Burnet polished his writing skills and his first story “The young folks” got published in “Story magazine”.
He rendered service in US army for some months during the World War II. During the war times he was unable to get his stories published as many of them were rejected by the “New Yorker”. The war left him in great stress because he was one of the first soldiers to see a “concentration camp liberated.” After the war he tried to publish a book of his short stories with the help of his mentor Burnet but failed.
“The Catcher in the Rye” was published in 1951 and became popular. The novel was mostly read by the rebellious teenagers who found their own reflection in the novel characters. More than 65 million copies the novel have been sold till date with an annual sale of more than 2 million the novel is still popular among the youth.
His other notable works include “Nine stories”, “Fanny and Zooey”, “Raise high the roof beam” and “Carpenters and Seymour”.
J.D. Salinger
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