J.D. Salinger, requiescat in pace ...

[Michael Bailey]

John Carvill wrote:
>
> I must admit, I have read nothing of Salinger's except 'Catcher'. Is 'Franny and Zooey' worth a go? I wonder what all those unpublished novels are like, if they do exist?
>


for me all his stuff is great.  Close to perfect.
There's a list of the contents of a medicine cabinet in "Zooey"
that is as moving and meaningful as the stuff on Slothrop's desk, for
instance.

Wikipedia mentions how a lot of writers were inspired by reading him:

The writer Aimee Bender was struggling with her first short stories
when a friend gave her a copy of Nine Stories; inspired, she later
described Salinger's effect on writers, explaining: "[I]t feels like
Salinger wrote The Catcher in the Rye in a day, and that incredible
feeling of ease inspires writing. Inspires the pursuit of voice. Not
his voice. My voice. Your voice."



His death is a body blow. Even if they release all his unpublished work and
even if it's great, it was wonderful knowing he was alive and walking
this earth...