Belated Thoughts on J D Salinger

When J. D. Salinger died in January, we heard--ad nauseum, it seemed--both about the author's failure to publish beyond his early works and his subsequent life as a recluse. These parts of Salinger's biography were portayed as they usually are, with dismay and with a sense of failure.

After rereading this spring The Catcher in the Rye, Franny and Zooey, and Nine Stories, I can say that I share none of this disappointment. Salinger's work is brilliant. Holden Caulfield speaks not only to the disaffection of youth but also to the heartbreaking, thin line between mental health and mental dissolution. And if you haven't read the short story "For Esmé--With Love and Squalor," find it and read it immediately. The war-ravaged narrator and his meeting with the young British girl are unforgettable and, like Catcher in the Rye, transcendent of time and place.

If J. D. Salinger had more good work to publish, well, I guess it's too bad we didn't get to read it. But more often than not, we read too much from one author. Once a writer publishes one good book, it's often assumed that everything else is equally good. This is rarely the case, I've found, and results in awkward book reviews and undeserved accolades.

Perhaps Mr. Salinger got it right. Put out your best work and allow it to stand on its own merits. And maybe, just maybe, generations of readers will continue to discover you long after the book tours are over.