New Documentary and Book Claim a Treasure Trove of New J.D. Salinger Works to be Released in 2015

Posted on August 25, 2013

A new documentary and related book about J.D. Salinger released by the Weinstein Comany claims that the reclusive writer, who died in 2010, left instructions for quite a bit of his work to be published after his death. If that's true it would be an extraordinary occurrence in the literary world.

The New York Times reports that the book and the film, both titled Salinger, claim to have unimpeachable sourcing for the claims. The movie and book assert that Salinger's estate will publish five new books at least, beginning in 2015. One collection will be called "The Family Glass." It includes five new short stories about the fictional Glass family, featured in Franny and Zooey and other works.

Another book will include a story called "The Last and Best of the Peter Pans" and new stories about the fictional Caulfield family which featured in Catcher in the Rye. One new book is about a religious philosophy called Vedanta to which Salinger was devoted. One novel is set during during World War II and is based on his first marriage to a German woman. There is also a novella based on his time in the war.

Salinger's widow won't confirm the assertions in the documentary, but they are being taken quite seriously. The film opens on September 6th. Many famous people are appearing in the film as themselves, including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Edward Norton, John Cusak, Tom Wolfe, Judd Apatow and Gore Vidal.