As the expression goes, better late than never. Fans of J.D. Salinger’s classic novel The Catcher In The Rye will finally be able to have a digital copy of the book, as it will be released as an ebook for the first time later this week, according to The New York Times.
The book will be published by Little, Brown and Company, as well as three other novels by Salinger: Nine Stories, Franny and Zooey, and Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour — An Introduction.
After the 1951 release of The Catch in the Rye, Salinger became something of a recluse, and even stopped publishing works after 1965. However, he continued writing until he passed away in 2010, but none of these works have been published or viewed by the public.
These works are heavily guarded by his song, Matt Salinger, who has been meticulously going through his father’s writing archives. Despite the secrecy, Salinger’s family announced that these unseen works will be published eventually.
Matt Salinger told The New York Times that his father’s trust has kept quite the firm grip on J.D. Salinger’s works, not allowing any licensing or adaptations. He also shared that his father despised the idea of the internet, and was “horrified” when his son described social media platform Facebook to him. Due to this attitude, the trust resisted requests to digitalize his works. The change of heart came when a reader wrote to Matt telling him that due to a disability, it was difficult for her to read physical books.
The released of a digital version of the novel does not mean that any audiobooks will be released. Matt said that his father “abhorred the idea of his books being performed or interpreted in any way in another medium.”