J.D. Salinger: Five New Books in 2015?

[doubleshuffle]

Interesting news on three unpublished Salinger stories which have been leaked!

An anonymous filesharer has gone against the wishes of JD Salinger about the posthumous publication of his works, by leaking a scanned version of three of his short stories online. They include"The Ocean Full of Bowling Balls", thought to be one of the author's best, and which he directed should not be published before 2060.

A pdf which appeared to be a scan of a paperback book entitled Three Stories first showed up in an eBay auction. A post on Reddit suggested that a scan of the book was then uploaded to a filesharing site. Notes on Reddit reported that the uploader claimed that the paperback was number six of 25 copies published in London in 1999.

And nobody seems to know how the stories could have gotten out. I'll wait for the official publication in 2060, of course.

[HomeInMyShoes]

2060? So J.D. Salinger decided that no one currently alive should read his other works. Nice.

File under: I'm sorry to have spent any money on Salinger or his ancestors and future ancestors.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by doubleshuffle

Interesting news on three unpublished Salinger stories which have been leaked!



And nobody seems to know how the stories could have gotten out. I'll wait for the official publication in 2060, of course.

By time 2060 comes round I'll be going on the ripe old age of 90. It's possible by then I'll have forgotten how to read (assuming I'm still here). I wonder if MR will still be online by then.

[din155]

Originally Posted by crich70

By time 2060 comes round I'll be going on the ripe old age of 90. It's possible by then I'll have forgotten how to read (assuming I'm still here). I wonder if MR will still be online by then.

I think it will, just with a different name..Mindread anyone? We will be discussing how mbooks are better than ebooks or which mreader is better.

[Lemurion]

I will turn 97 in 2060, so it's unlikely I'll still be around.

[KyBunnies]

Well if more books do come out I know my son will be very happy. Catcher and the Rye was a required read for him in high school. He loved the book. After reading that he read everything possible by Salinger. In 2060 he will be 66.

[AprilHare]

Exciting seeing J.D.'s wishes getting screwed over (I have had little sympathy over the years).
The three unpublished books include "The Ocean Full of Bowling Balls" which had previously been available to read under supervision at Princeton library, "Paula" and "Birthday Boy", which have only previously been readable at the University of Texas's Harry Ransom Center. "Birthday Boy", completed in 1946, is referenced by Salinger in letters as late as 1951.
The EAN of the leaked book is 5800078276643 - not that I can find reference to it elsewhere. Anyone else good at searching EANs?

[kennyc]

Originally Posted by crich70

By time 2060 comes round I'll be going on the ripe old age of 90. It's possible by then I'll have forgotten how to read (assuming I'm still here). I wonder if MR will still be online by then.

Yep, I'll be 107, just a young whippersnapper.....they will have rejuv by then, right?

From The Daily Beast: http://www.thedailybeast.com/article...he-author.html

[doubleshuffle]

Couldn't resist anymore and took the old DeLorean for a quick spin to 2060. Pleasant trip -- apart from the little incident in which some followers of the Cult of Quidditch launched their Bludgers (or were they just bowling balls?) at me for not genuflecting before one of the ubiquitous Rowling statues -- and I have to say that The Ocean Full of Bowling Balls is a heartbreaking and nearly perfect short story.

Beats me why Salinger wanted to keep that one under wraps; also makes me hope that there might be some really good stuff among the material to be published in 2015.

[pynch]

Originally Posted by doubleshuffle

Couldn't resist anymore and took the old DeLorean for a quick spin to 2060. Pleasant trip -- apart from the little incident in which some followers of the Cult of Quidditch launched their Bludgers (or were they just bowling balls?) at me for not genuflecting before one of the ubiquitous Rowling statues -- and I have to say that The Ocean Full of Bowling Balls is a heartbreaking and nearly perfect short story.

Beats me why Salinger wanted to keep that one under wraps; also makes me hope that there might be some really good stuff among the material to be published in 2015.

Have you also read the two other stories, Calvin? Are they any good?

[crich70]

Originally Posted by doubleshuffle

Couldn't resist anymore and took the old DeLorean for a quick spin to 2060. Pleasant trip -- apart from the little incident in which some followers of the Cult of Quidditch launched their Bludgers (or were they just bowling balls?) at me for not genuflecting before one of the ubiquitous Rowling statues -- and I have to say that The Ocean Full of Bowling Balls is a heartbreaking and nearly perfect short story.

Beats me why Salinger wanted to keep that one under wraps; also makes me hope that there might be some really good stuff among the material to be published in 2015.

I hope you remembered not to pop the Infinite Improbability Booster this time. Matrix control central had quite a mess to clean up last time you did that.

[crich70]

Originally Posted by kennyc

Yep, I'll be 107, just a young whippersnapper.....they will have rejuv by then, right?

From The Daily Beast: http://www.thedailybeast.com/article...he-author.html

I'll beam you a postcard from Alpha Centauri to let you know kennyc.

[Prestidigitweeze]

Originally Posted by pynch

Have you also read the two other stories, Calvin? Are they any good?

Odd errors in usage* in the first of the three stories made me remember when the screenplay for an Aliens sequel -- which was supposedly written by William Gibson -- made the internet rounds. Only people who knew Gibson were aware he had actually written such a screenplay, and that the true item was far, far better than the one everyone else had downloaded.

As for that first story: I wasn't impressed with the one-dimensional goodness of the main character as lionized by the narrator (who was of course a writer). Said Christlike whelp even underscored Goodness in casual conversation and wrote passages from The Great Romantic Poets on his catcher's mitt -- passages which everyone around him seemed to have read and cataloged mentally with photographic accuracy.

This diffusion-disc-flattering conception of a precocious child has so little to do with the reality of actual gifted children that I wonder whether the person who wrote the story understood that a genius's aptitude has about as much to do with their personal morality as sudden neurological damage does with building character outside of Hollywood flicks.

The irony is that the sacrificial Wunderkind chides the narrator for writing a story with a manipulative ending, yet the ending of the very story in which said Good character appears is at least as manipulative as the nonexistent one which the narrator sums.

===========

* These errors are not to be confused with the writer's Twain-intentional incorrect spellings, phonetically rendered colloquialisms and malapropisms. Those occur not only in this story but in virtually everything Salinger has written. The errors to which I've referred reveal nothing about the characters; they simply make you stop to substitute the correct word or phrase. And while said mistakes are quite minor, I can't imagine Salinger failing to notice them in a late draft.

[Prestidigitweeze]

The best way to verify the authenticity of "Ocean Full of Bowling Balls" would be to go to the Firestone Library at Princeton University and compare the online version to the original. The same could be done with the originals of "Paula" and "Birthday Boy," which are part of the archives of the University of Texas in Austin.

The possibility of the stories being complete forgeries seems less likely because of the availability of the originals, but that doesn't explain the following bits in "Ocean Full of Bowling Balls":

"'Don't you feel like you're even her?'"

"Then Kenneth pressed the dash button, and the canvas top, helped by an overhead slam of my hand, began to go to its act, collapsing finally beneath the seat."

[AprilHare]

So, dear stale thread readers, how excited are you in 2019 knowing Matt Salinger is working on new J.D. Salinger works and has released the old ones as ebooks?