Catcher in the Rye novelist retains cult-like following today despite having spent most of his life in semi-complete seclusion

By Anusha Kambhampaty

When J.D. Salinger died last month at the age of 91, nostalgic and reverential writings flooded every newspaper and magazine as writers from around the world remembered their favorite literary anti-hero and the man who first introduced him.

Salinger, save for a lawsuit here and there, all but disappeared from the public eye since the publication of Hapworth 16, 1924 in 1965. But, the legacy of Holden Caulfield, and the enigma that is Salinger himself, forever remains.

Born Jerome David on January 1, 1919 in New York City, Salinger’s flair for dialogue and capturing the authenticity of human interaction made him an instant hit. “He gets the alienation of adolescence spot on,” said NYU English professor Bryan Waterman. The anti-establishment nature and first person perspective of Catcher in the Rye set it apart from other books of its time. Young men and women immersed themselves in Holden’s story as he vagabonded his way through New York City after being kicked out of prep school. As he hired a hooker, fought a pimp, and put everything down as “phony,” they read on.

His aching desire to be the ‘catcher in the rye,’ or the preserver of youthful innocence, fascinated readers and they soon realized that Holden’s quest for identity was no different than their own. Catcher in the Rye, Salinger’s only full-length novel, became instantly iconic in 1951 when it was published, and it retains that same status today with 60 million copies sold worldwide since its publication.

“Institutionally, it’s been canonized by high school teachers,” said Prof. Waterman. “Teachers go for books that will resonate with teenagers and spark conversation and debate in class.”

Holden’s story deeply resonated with teenagers and adults alike. “From lower caste East L.A. to ritzy private schools, to rural India and mountains in China, people from all generations could identify with the rebelliousness,” said Chris Kubica, editor of Letters to J.D. Salinger. “It was surprising to see how the book crossed all geographies.”

But, Salinger wasn’t quite prepared for all the fame that would follow. In 1953, Nine Stories was released; the early sixties saw a burst in Salinger publications with Franny and Zooey, Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters, and Seymour: An Introduction. The creative streak came to an abrupt end in 1965 with Hapworth 16, 1924, as Salinger, at the height of his career, turned his back on it all. Salinger buried away in his Cornish, New Hampshire home. He stopped giving interviews and for all intensive purposes, stopped writing.

In 1986, when biographer Ian Hamilton intended to include private Salinger letters sent to agents, girlfriends, and family in his book, Salinger sued. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court, which ruled that despite the attainability of the letters, the words were distinctly Salinger’s. Hamilton was forced to revise the book; “It made it a lot less interesting,” said Kubica.

In 1999, his privacy was once again breached as ex-lover Joyce Maynard, who at the time of the affair was an 18-year old Yale student (Salinger was 53), tried to publish old love letters sent during their yearlong relationship. But because of the previous Supreme Court ruling, they could not be printed. (The letters were then purchased by software entrepreneur Peter Norton and mailed back to Salinger.)

In 2000, daughter Margaret from Salinger’s second wife Claire Douglas, a Radcliff student, released a memoir of her father, essentially portraying him as a psycho who was abusive, egotistical and voracious with his writing. (She has also written that he drank his own urine). However, many of these accounts have been disputed by Salinger’s son, Matthew, also mothered by Douglas, who has said that he does not remember the same father Margaret does.

The latest legal dispute Salinger found himself in was in the summer of 2009 when Swedish author by the pen name of J.D. California wrote a Catcher in the Rye sequel entitled 60 Years Later: Coming through the Rye. Salinger was able enact a “recall and destruction” of the book in the United Stated, claiming that it hijacked his intellectual property. The case is not yet closed, as there are free speech rights at stake; but, with Salinger no longer alive to fuel his end of the debate, the kitschy sequel might make its way into American households.

J.D. Salinger has gone to extreme measures to protect his privacy and the sanctity of his writing. Instead of being a turn-off to readers, his reclusive-ness has only enhanced the public’s curiosity in him. “Everyone loves a good mystery,” said Joe Ullrich, president of Omni Publicity, a PR firm for authors. People are just dying to get more out of him.

Many fans have expressed this anxiousness through letters that Chris Kubica has compiled in his book Letters to JD Salinger. Several letters are appreciative and thank Salinger for being an inspiration, said Kubica, while others are from readers who are “ticked off that he checked out.” Many people are frustrated with Salinger for being inconsistent with his reclusion as he often goes into hiding for some periods of time and then pops into the limelight for a legal battle or two. “He’s keeping our appetite for more,” said Kubica.

This is likely not a conscious decision on Salinger’s part, though. He truly did not enjoy the attention. Lillian Ross of The New Yorker has quoted him as saying “There are no writers anymore. Only book-selling louts and big mouths.”

Fame and celebrity would probably top Salinger’s list of “phonies.” “Whether it’s considered snooty or not, Salinger was a true artist. He was just interested in writing and rewriting; publication was secondary. He didn’t anticipate becoming a cult classic,” said Kubica. “With all the attention, his life couldn’t be his own.”

According to Ullrich, Salinger was an author who was expressive in what he wrote, not in his personality. That’s why he didn’t keep up appearances or go out to of his way to promote his book—starkly different from today’s writers where, “every author has a Twitter,” said Kubica. “They prostitute themselves to get their work known.”

J.D. Salinger rose to fame, not in gimmicks or PR stunts, but in the poignancy of his writing. Which begs the question, has he been continuing his craft all these years?

Without Salinger alive to halt publication, it’s just a matter of waiting to see what emerges.