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Newly released letters reveal JD Salinger’s wariness over ‘second-rate reviewers’
Exclusive: Author asked to remove reference to his ‘Jewish-Irishness’ from book jacket of The Catcher in the Rye
TL;DR
- JD Salinger requested his editor remove references to his "Jewish-Irishness" from the book jacket of "The Catcher in the Rye."
- He expressed concern that this information would be "misused" by reviewers and lead to unwanted ethnic/religious assumptions.
- The first edition dust jacket of the novel omits any reference to his cultural or religious lineage.
- The letters also discuss an unpublished "long story," a prequel to "Catcher in the Rye," titled "The Ocean Full of Bowling Balls."
- Salinger stipulated in his will that the prequel remain unpublished, though it was later leaked.
- The author was known for his reclusiveness and desire to separate authorial identity from textual interpretation.