January 28, 2010

J.D. Salinger, 1919-2010

J.D. Salinger, author of The Catcher in the Rye and a main character in the novel Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella, has died at the age of 91.

Will check back later with thoughts. A sad day today, indeed.

UPDATE: A wonderful, brilliant obituary from the satirical website The Onion

11 comments:

imoni cole-palmer said...

R.I.P. J.D. Salinger, amazing writer who I am sure lived a great life. It's just too bad he went into recluse before he could explain the wonders of his writing, specifically Catcher in the Rye, sufficiently.

Anonymous said...

Mr.Braiman its Joshua Ramirez i wanted to know what was you reaction when you found out he died because i found out when i got home after the regents and i was shocked.

Jason O. Braiman, Esq. said...

Sad but not shocked; he was, after all, 91. I obviously couldn't help thinking that I'd basically spent my entire last semester teaching talking about him. It will be interesting to see what comes out now, if anything; there may well be items in his estate, including writings, that he either wanted to be released after his death or that will leak out some other way.

In any event, we've lost a true literary giant. You can be sure to hear and read all sorts of tributes over the next few days, of people remarking on how important The Catcher in the Rye was to them and how much it meant to their lives.

Christie Magloire said...

I was just thinking about the Critical Lens...Everything that we've done and said about Catcher in the Rye and Salinger has left me speechless. Though J.D. Salinger lived a secluded life, he left such a profound influence on everyone, from the readers, to his loved ones, and the public eye.

Anonymous said...

yoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyoyo whats up Braiman? Yeah I know it sucks that another great american author died, but hey 91 is pretty old, ironicly when you left our school so did J.D Salinger. A coinsedense? Maybe.
It's Diego Castellanos, and please excuse my spelling errors.

Jason O. Braiman, Esq. said...

It's all part of my Secret Evil Master Plan.

Samuel Huddle said...

Will we ever know the contents of your Evil Master Plan?

Jason O. Braiman, Esq. said...

Then it wouldn't be a Secret Evil Master Plan, now would it?

Samuel Huddle said...

True, but what if you were planning on blowing up the Earth, let's say for example. We would eventually know because we would have no Earth left to live on. So we will know the contents of your Secret Evil Master Plan, it's just a matter of time.

Jason O. Braiman, Esq. said...

Of course you'll see it, when it's been fully implemented. Then it will be too late.

Diego Castellnos said...

Yeah Sam. Keep up.