ZombieChatter.com

“Catcher in the Rye” author J.D. Salinger has died at age 91 in New Hampshire.

The author’s son, in a statement from the author’s literary representative, says Salinger died of natural causes at his home. He had lived for decades in self-imposed isolation in the small, remote house in Cornish, N.H.

“The Catcher in the Rye” with its immortal teenage protagonist—the twisted, rebellious Holden Caulfield—came out in 1951 during the time of anxious, Cold War conformity.

“The Catcher in the Rye” gets a lot of bad publicity because of it being the most censored book in high schools and libraries in the United States and also it’s association to Mark David Chapman’s  shooting of John Lennon , John Hinckley, Jr.’s assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan, Robert John Bardo’s shooting of Rebecca Schaeffer and other murders, but it still remains to be one of my favorite novels of all time.  I’ve read the novel several times and I actually keep a copy on my nightstand that has pages dog-eared so that I can just read quick bits of my favorite parts.  Looks like it’s time to dust it off and give it another read. 

R.I.P. JD Salinger

On the night of 8 December 1980, at around 10:50 pm, Mark David Chapman shot Lennon in the back four times in the entrance of the Dakota apartment building. Earlier that evening, Lennon had autographed a copy of Double Fantasy for Chapman^[104] who had been stalking Lennon since October.

Lennon was taken to the emergency room of nearby Roosevelt Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival at 11:07 pm. On the following day, Ono issued a statement, saying “There is no funeral for John.” Ono ended her statement with the words, “John loved and prayed for the human race. Please pray the same for him. Love, Yoko and Sean.”

Chapman pleaded guilty to second degree murder and was sentenced to 20 years to life; he remains in prison, having been repeatedly denied parole. Lennon’s body was cremated at Ferncliff Cemetery in Hartsdale, New York. According to some accounts, Ono scattered Lennon’s ashes on Strawberry Fields; according to others, she kept them.

Two days before his murder, Lennon told Andy Peebles of the BBC that he felt he could go out anywhere in New York City and feel safe. On another occasion while still a Beatle, Lennon was asked how he might die. Lennon replied, “I’ll probably be popped off by some loony.” During an interview with Dave Sholin at The Dakota hours before his murder, Lennon stated, “I’ve always considered my work one piece whether it be with Beatles, David Bowie, Elton John, or Yoko Ono. And I consider that my work won’t be finished until I’m dead and buried and I hope that’s a long, long time.”