I admire J.D. Salinger’s work immensely, but as an author myself I scratched my head at the refusal to publish in his later years. In reading J. D. Salinger: A Life I had hoped to get a better understanding as to why he chose to live that way. I think the book succeeded.

Author Kenneth Slawenski gave quite a bit of insight into his early years, before he published short stories with The New Yorker or The Catcher in the Rye. I really had no idea about the years of rejections or his time spent in the war, so getting these details helped broaden my perspective on Salinger. I was amazed to find out what Salinger was paid to be basically an on-call writer with The New Yorker. The New Yorker gave him a retainer for the right of first refusal on his short stories, and the amount is staggering for that time.

Any author today will appreciate this book, because it was such a different time in publishing. The New Yorker, for example, really worked with Salinger on his stories. They helped him polish and undoubtedly made him an even better writer. Today, writers need to make sure their stories are polished and then they need to market them after. Salinger didn’t have to do this, even when he was a struggling writer. As a result, parts of this book were like reading ancient history for me. The publishing industry is so very different now.

The bulk of this book is spent on the early years, until Salinger basically disappeared from society. The author uses Salinger’s own stories to help describe him, proving just how tied his life was to the words he wrote. Fans of Salinger and even those in writing and publishing today are bound to love this book. I know I did.

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Book provided by Amazon Vine Program.

I caught this really great article about J.D. Salinger, and I thought you might enjoy it. Anything about Salinger is interesting to me, especially since his death. I keep thinking, we will see what else he has written?

One thing I thought was funny was this line:

“Do not read J. D. Salinger on a Kindle,” he says, with a snort of disgust. “Grab that broken paperback.”

YES! I’m all for ebooks, but there is a certain charm to reading an actual book. You know?

Image: sxc.hu

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CNN reports that J.D. Salinger, author of The Catcher in the Rye, has passed away. He was 91.

He was one of the most reclusive writers of our time, but his classic book certainly made history. I had read somewhere that Salinger, despite not publishing this entire time, was still writing. It will be interesting to see what will happen to his words now.

Rest in peace, Mr. Salinger, and thank you for your contribution to the literary world. You will be missed.

Image: sxc.hu.

Additional Writing Resources:

• Make Money From Home – Real Jobs You Can Do by Telecommuting
• Create Multiple Articles from Just One
• How to Write Your Own Ebook in 7 Days
• Freelance Writing Jobs