Sequel to Catcher in the Rye penned
14.05.09 | Katie Coyne
A former gravedigger and debut novelist has penned a sequel to J D Salinger’s seminal work The Catcher in the Rye which is due to be released next month.
Swedish/American travel writer, John David California, wrote 60 Years Later Coming Through the Rye after a becoming "captivated" by the story of Holden Caulfield. California said he first became acquainted with The Catcher in the Rye after finding a well-thumbed copy in an abandoned cabin in rural Cambodia.
Published by Windupbird Publishing, the book is billed as 'freestanding' and so can be read without first reading the novel that inspired it. As the title suggests, the book tells the story of Caulfield 60 years later when he is 76-year-old resident of a nursing home.
Windupbird describes him as a "bewildered old man who is suddenly and maliciously yanked back onto the page by his creator". Caulfield comes to his senses and has an overwhelming compulsion to flee. He boards a bus and embarks on a curious journey through the streets of New York and "many poignant memories of his adulthood".
Windupbird added: "Threaded through this is the conscience of his creator, who, while attempting to understand his American anti-hero, fiercely battles to keep up with him and control the directions he takes."
60 Years Later Coming Through the Rye will be launched on 25th June with a rrp £7.99.
Comments on this article
By Barney Ross
The author was inspired after "finding a well-thumbed copy in an abandoned cabin in rural Cambodia"? Yeah, because THAT sounds believable.14 May 09 09:56
By Emma
Errr....doesn't JD Salinger (or his estate) have something to say about this? I mean come on...what aspiring writer hasn't at some time thought of reprising this classic literary character? What stopped me from writing this kind of book was the small matter of copyright.14 May 09 10:38
By Blong
This book can't be allowed to be published. I'm an avid "Catcher in the Rye" fan and I refuse to purchase this book. If J.D. wants to write a sequel, I will be the first in line. This author cannot steal Holden from J.D. and from my imagination.14 May 09 16:18
By Nobilis
Emma, copyright only covers the copy you write. Is "Holden Caulfield" trademarked? If not, then there's no legal recourse.14 May 09 16:26
By Trader Jane
This is just awesome, I've been wondering for years how Holden is doing nowadays, and now I'll get to know! I just say cool work..14 May 09 18:06
By BillSaysThis
US Copyright would cover this situation, otherwise Paramount and Lucas could not block fan films/books using Star Trek/Star Wars characters and plots.14 May 09 18:13
By Nicholas
This really should never be published. As people have said before, it is absolutely wrong for someone random to cash in on a literary classic. If Salinger wants to write a sequel, fine; but this should never be classed as anything other than what it is: a 'fanfic'.14 May 09 21:33
By LadyWriter
I think this comes under the category of 'fan fiction'. Fans make their own versions of Star Trek and Star Wars based on the understanding that they are not going to make money out of it. For all his faults, George Lucas is very generous and lets people play in his sandbox as long as we all 'play fair'. Once you take someone else's copyrighted characters and world and their style of storytelling - and try and make money from it - it's lawyers at 10 paces. So has the copyright run out? Did they get permission? How have they managed to do this?14 May 09 22:30
By Emma
Sorry Nobilis...you are completely wrong. You cannot pick another writers characters and do what you want with them. That IS an infringement. I can only presume permission was given by JD for this to be allowed to happen.15 May 09 15:47
By Mauricio Dottori
The second part of the Quixote was written by Cervantes as an answer to a unauthorized novel using both Quixote and Sancho. If he had sued the author, instead, modern romance would not exist as we understand. Copyright of anything less than the whole object itself, is a curse to art...15 May 09 23:56
By Maurice
The second part of the Quixote was written by Cervantes as an answer to a unauthorized novel using both Quixote and Sancho. If he had sued the author, instead, modern romance would not exist as we understand. Copyright of anything less than the whole object itself, is a curse to art... It is a pity that people defends it.15 May 09 23:58
By PeterSImcoe
First of all, an American writer first comes into contact with "Catcher in the Rye" in a "cabin in rural Cambodia"? Great story -- not buying it. Second, with all the creativity in the world it is a sad commentary that someone needs to recycle a plot which is already been told. No, this forthcoming book is not "freestanding" -- but Salinger's book is.16 May 09 01:21
By Davey Stone
That's terrific....and I'm writing the new Lord of the Rings book, two more to follow Da Vinci Code and - what the hell - I might even crack on with this new version of Charles Dicken's Oliver Twist during the twilight years. Cheques payable to 'D. Stone' please, estate folks.19 May 09 13:21
By john kaye
You might be interested to know that Mr. California isn't the first to attempt a sequel and I came across an interesting site where a similar venture appears to be underway already, except this version appears to begin precisely where the original left off, albeit with the usual name changes etc. Thought you might be interested in the event that you do a follow up piece on this syndrome. The first couple of chapters have already been published and can be viewed at: www.BlueAmericanNovel.com01 Jun 09 15:15
By Bob
I'm sure most of you have heard about the lawsuit filed by JD. Still, I'm curious enough to try and buy one already published in Europe.03 Jun 09 20:13
By Jabberwocky
On copyright: This guy can write the book. It doesn't stop JD Salinger from suing the pants off him and trying to stop it being published. It's possible that doing so is a mistake though; it's certainly going to draw a LOT of publicity to a book that might otherwise have been more or less ignored. Personally, without the lawsuit I'd never have heard about this "sequel", but now I'm curious. I hated the original book, so this might be worth a read.05 Jun 09 05:05
By Anthony Gabriel
Copyright over what? It is not copyright untill J.D California takes credit for wrinting "Catcher in the Rye. An example of the intent of copyright, as expressed in the United States Constitution, is "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors...the exclusive Right to their...Writings"J.D. California has written a sequel to the most aspiring novel of all-time. It is not copyrith since he wrote a "sequel" not "prequal".10 Jun 09 13:22
By Joe
Are you kidding me? People arguing about the matter of copyright? For those who haven't checked out Windupbird Publishing's site, (if it can be called a site), they are not too subtly hinting that this is indeed a complete hoax. '...brought to you by your favorite fantasy windupbird.' it states. Fantasy indeed; for 'Windupbird' have no other book titles to their name, and coincidentally (or not), the author also has no other work to show of. Oh and that's before we've considered the small matter of the publisher's name being 'Windup', as in a joke at someone else's expense. Furthermore, Nicotext who have suddenly been revealed as the owners of 'Windup' have a suspect website themselves, but have in fact sold a few books, mostly through Amazon. However, reviews on Amazon prove some of the books, for instance, BLA BLA 600 Incredibly Useless Facts, to have numerous grammatical errors and even incorrect facts. Thus, these books smack of being released simply to provide a little history to Nicotext, pieces in a big fake puzzle if you will. Finally, the writer is said to have discovered the book in an abandoned cabin, when of course, Caulfield was set on leaving New York City for a cabin towards the end of Salinger's novel, which again is a clear indication of this whole thing being a complete hoax.17 Jun 09 15:54
By Ross
Joe: the moral is that publishing has become a dirty cut-throat world, because there are now big bucks in English language and English literature, of any hue. Of course, you could say that publishing had this coming, as it might at one time have been perceived as elitist. Still - babies and bathwater spring to mind. Anyway, these are new times and new problems - and plagiarism is rearing its big ugly head like never before. Fact is there has always been plagiarism - none of us live in a vacuum. What is different is the scale of the reward if you prove it - ahh, then, my son, you are set up for life. How can you not be influenced by writers you admire? This whole thing is eerily like a challenge we have to overcome to admit we are all consciously or unconsciously connected.17 Jun 09 18:42
