Exhaustive Coverage of J.D. Salinger

For fans of J.D. Salinger, September is an auspicious month.  First, Salinger (the book) was released on September 3rd.  This indepth account of Salinger's life, based on extensive research and confidential documents, has received good reviews.

“Revealing . . . [A] sharp-edged portrait.” — Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

“Engrossing . . . There are fascinating and unique accounts that get to the heart of Salinger. . . . The freshest material comes from Salinger’s letters, which bring his own voice, often adolescent-sounding, into the commentary. Previous biographers didn’t have access to much of this material.” — Carl Rollyson, The Wall Street Journal

“The reminiscences are layered with a stunning array of primary material. Taken as a whole—the memories, the documents, the pictures—the book feels as close as we’ll ever get to being inside Salinger’s head.” — Tina Jordan, Entertainment Weekly

“Salinger gets the goods on an author’s reclusive life . . . it strips away the sheen of his exceptionalism, trading in his genius for something much more real.” — David L. Ulin, Los Angeles Times

“In Salinger, David Shields and Shane Salerno crack open the mythos of the reclusive author. . . . Salinger is the thorny, complicated portrait that its thorny, complicated subject deserves. . . . The book offers the most complete rendering yet of Salinger’s World War II service, the transformative trauma that began with the D-Day invasion and carried through the horrific Battle of Hürtgen Forest and the liberation of a Dachau subcamp.” — Louis Bayard, The Washington Post

Next, if a 700 page tome leaves you lacking, Harvey Weinstein released a documentary, also entitled Salinger, on September 6th.  The reviews to the film have been less than enthusiastic, but that should be taken with a grain of salt.  Here's the official trailer:





Finally, in the event that you feel Salinger's life has not been adequately covered by the above efforts, Thomas Beller has an upcoming biography scheduled for release next spring.  These should be happy days for Salinger devotees.  

Fans of David Foster Wallace are holding out for similar coverage.