CATCHER in the Rye author JD Salinger has died at the age of 91, his son said yesterday.
In a statement from the author’s literary representative, his son said Salinger died of natural causes at his home. He had lived for decades in self-imposed isolation in the small, remote house in Cornish, New Hampshire, in the United States.
The Catcher in the Rye with its immortal teenage protagonist – the twisted, rebellious Holden Caulfield – came out in 1951 during the time of anxious, Cold War conformity. Salinger wrote for adults, but teenagers all over the world identified with the novel’s themes of alienation, innocence and fantasy. In later years, Salinger became famous for not wanting to be famous, refusing interviews.
Last year it was reported he was taking legal action to block the publication of a book called, 60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye, billed as a follow-up to The Catcher in the Rye.
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