Readers who claim J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye as their favorite book may soon have reason to update their desert-island-books list. If published reports are true, five previously unpublished works by the enigmatic author are on their way.
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A forthcoming documentary and book about the reclusive writer, who died in 2010 at the age of 91, will reveal that the novelist left careful instructions for his estate to publish at least five additional works following his death. Some of these will be entirely new and others will build upon his past repertoire, the New York Times reports. The posthumous releases are expected between 2015 and 2020.
The Times offers the following details about what these works will entail:
One collection, to be called “The Family Glass,” would add five new stories to an assembly of previously published stories about the fictional Glass family, which figured in Mr. Salinger’s “Franny and Zooey” and elsewhere, according to the claims, which surfaced in interviews and previews of the documentary and book last week.
Another would include a retooled version of a publicly known but unpublished tale, “The Last and Best of the Peter Pans,” which is to be collected with new stories and existing work about the fictional Caulfields, including “Catcher in the Rye.” The new works are said to include a story-filled “manual” of the Vedanta religious philosophy, with which Mr. Salinger was deeply involved; a novel set during World War II and based on his first marriage; and a novella modeled on his own war experiences.
This reveal, however, comes not from Salinger’s estate but from Shane Salerno, who directed the documentary, and David Shields, who co-wrote the companion book. Salinger’s son, Matthew, and his widow, Colleen O’Neill, who manage the estate, both declined to comment.
But before you get too excited, remember: Holden Caulfield hated everything, so he’d probably hate this too.