J.D. Salinger, the highly revered author and enigmatic recluse died today of natural causes in his Cornish, New Hampshire home. He was 91 years of age. Though scant in his output Salinger was best known for Catcher In The Rye, a stirring ode to youth’s disaffection and a shining hallmark of the 20th Century literary canon. After the novel’s 1951 publication and subsequent acclaim, Salinger shunned the notoriety it afforded him, eventually relocating to the woods and becoming a recluse.
“Despite having broken his hip in May, his health had been excellent until a rather sudden decline after the new year,” a representative said of Salinger’s health “He was not in any pain before or at the time of his death.”
It’s a sad day for Salinger fans but his spirit will live on when Holden Caulfield becomes the go-to Halloween costume of 2010. Also, the phonies in Heaven should be shaking in their boots.
