Jerome David Salinger

American novelist. Born in New York on January 1st. His father is Jewish and his mother is Scots-Irish. In 1932, he enrolled in the prestigious McBurney High School in Manhattan, but dropped out after a year. In 1934, he enrolled in Valley Forge Military Academy, graduating in 1936. In 1939, he took a short story writing course taught by Professor Whit Burnett at Columbia University, and in 1940, his short story "The Young Men" was first published in Story magazine, which was also run by the same professor. During World War II, he volunteered to serve in the British counterintelligence corps and participated in the Normandy landings. The short stories he continued to write during his military service were published in several magazines, and after his discharge, he mainly published his works in The New Yorker magazine. In 1951, he suddenly came into the limelight with "The Catcher in the Rye," a work he had worked on for 10 years. This work was heavily criticized by the educational community for its frequent use of blasphemous language, and critics were undecided about it, but it was enthusiastically received by young people, and it is now translated into more than a dozen languages. Since then, he has remained silent except for the publication of Nine Stories (1953), a collection of his earlier works such as Banana Fish Day, For Esme, and The Laughing Man, but in 1955 he published Franny. This was followed by Raise the Roof Beam, Carpenter (1955), Zoe (1957), Seymour: A Prologue (1959), and Hapworth 16 1924 (1965), which form the series commonly known as the Grasse Saga. In 1961, the two stories, Franny and Zoe, were collected into a single volume titled Franny and Zoe, which was also well received. "The Grasse Saga" is the story of the seven Grasse siblings, led by the eldest son Seymour and the second son Buddy. All of them are child prodigies who have appeared on a radio program called "Dr. Bean," and the Grasse family is a unique family that boasts strong unity. The story tells of various kinds of love, but is filled with quotations from countless books from all over the world, past and present, including Christianity, Buddhism, Taoism, and haiku, and combines with an extremely refined writing style and diverse structure to create a unique and fascinating world. In his private life, he left New York, where he was born and raised, in 1953 and moved to Cornish, New Hampshire, and after "Hapworth 16 1924" in 1965, he stopped publishing his works and lived a secluded life, completely cutting off contact with the public.

[Tanaka Hiroshi]

"Hapworth 16 1924" translated by Harada Keiichi (1977, Arachi Publishing)" ▽ "Salinger Collected Works, Vol. 1-6, translated by Suzuki Takeki et al. (1981, Tokyo Shirakawa Shoin)" ▽ "The Catcher in the Rye, new edition, translated by Nozaki Takashi (1988, Hakusuisha)" ▽ "Salinger Selected Works, 4 volumes and 1 supplementary volume, translated by Karita Genji et al. (1990, Arachi Publishing)" ▽ "Nine Stories and Franny and Zooey, translated by Nozaki Takashi (Shincho Bunko)" ▽ "J.D. Salinger: A Selection of Essays on American Literary Authors, by Atsumi Akio (1977, Fuyuki Publishing)" ▽ "Salinger: Yearning for Maturity, by Tozawa Yukio (1978, Fuyuki Publishing)" ▽ "Salinger's Literature," expanded edition, by Shigeo Hisashi and Takeda Katsuhiko (1979, Bunken Shobo)" ▽ "Salinger Studies," by Warren French, translated by Tanaka Keishi (1979, Arachi Publishing)" ▽ "Studies on J.D. Salinger's Literature," by Shigeo Hisashi and Sato Ayako (1983, Tokyo Shirakawa Shoin)" ▽ "The World of Salinger," by Atsumi Akio and Inoue Kenji (1992, Arachi Publishing)" ▽ "J.D. Salinger Theory," by Takahashi Mieko (1995, Kirihara Shoten)" ▽ "The Mysterious Salinger: A Hidden Tale," by Tanaka Keishi (1996, Nagundo)" ▽ "I Don't Want to Say Anything More About 'The Catcher in the Rye': A New Dissection of Salinger," by Takeuchi Yasuhiro (1998, Arachi Publishing)" ▽ "Salinger Yellow Pages by Works (1940-1965)" edited by Tanaka Keishi (2000, Arachi Publishing) " "Catching Salinger" by Ian Hamilton, translated by Kaibo Masao (Bunshun Bunko)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

アメリカの小説家。1月1日ニューヨーク生まれ。父親はユダヤ人、母親はスコットランド系アイルランド人。1932年マンハッタンの名門校マクバーニー高校に入学するが1年後に退学、1934年バレー・フォージ陸軍幼年学校に入学、1936年に卒業。1939年コロンビア大学のホイット・バーネット教授の短編小説作法コースを受講、1940年同教授主宰の『ストーリー』誌に短編「若者たち」が初めて掲載された。第二次世界大戦時は志願してイギリスの防諜(ぼうちょう)部隊に配属され、ノルマンディー上陸作戦に参加。従軍中に書き続けた短編をいくつかの雑誌に発表、除隊後は主として『ニューヨーカー』誌に作品を発表。1951年、10年間の労作『ライ麦畑でつかまえて』で一躍脚光を浴びた。この作品は冒涜(ぼうとく)的言辞頻出のかどで教育界から強い批判を浴び、批評家の評価も定まらなかったが、若者たちに熱狂的に迎えられ、現在では十数か国で翻訳されている。以来「バナナ・フイッシュ日和(びより)」「エズメのために」「笑い男」など旧作を集めた『九つの物語（ナイン・ストーリーズ）』（1953）出版のほかは沈黙を守っていたが、1955年「フラニー」を発表。これは以後「大工よ、屋根の梁(はり)を上げよ」（1955）、「ゾーイ」（1957）、「シーモア――序章」（1959）および「ハプワース16　1924」（1965）と続き、「グラース・サガ」と通称される連作をなすものであるが、1961年に「フラニー」と「ゾーイ」の2作が『フラニーとゾーイ』として1冊にまとめられると、これも好評をもって迎えられた。「グラース・サガ」は、長男シーモア、次男バディを頂点とするグラース家7人の兄弟姉妹の物語。いずれも「豆博士」というラジオ番組出演の経験をもつ天才児で、強い結束を誇る個性的な一家である。そこでは多様な愛が語られるが、キリスト教から仏教、道教、俳句まで含む古今東西のおびただしい書物からの引用があふれ、極度に洗練された文体や多彩な構成と相まって特異な魅力の世界が展開される。私生活では1953年に生まれ育ったニューヨークを離れ、ニュー・ハンプシャー州コーニッシュに移住、1965年の「ハプワース16　1924」以後は作品も発表しなくなり、完全に世間との交渉を絶って隠遁(いんとん)生活を送った。

［田中啓史］

『原田敬一訳『ハプワース16　1924』（1977・荒地出版社）』▽『鈴木武樹ほか訳『サリンジャー作品集』第1～6（1981・東京白川書院）』▽『野崎孝訳『ライ麦畑でつかまえて』新装版（1988・白水社）』▽『刈田元司ほか訳『サリンジャー選集』全4巻・別巻1（1990・荒地出版社）』▽『野崎孝訳『ナイン・ストーリーズ』『フラニーとゾーイー』（新潮文庫）』▽『渥美昭夫著『アメリカ文学作家論選書　J・D・サリンジャー』（1977・冬樹社）』▽『利沢行夫著『サリンジャー――成熟への憧憬』（1978・冬樹社）』▽『繁尾久・武田勝彦著『サリンジャーの文学』増補版（1979・文建書房）』▽『ウォーレン・フレンチ著、田中啓史訳『サリンジャー研究』（1979・荒地出版社）』▽『繁尾久・佐藤アヤ子著『J.D.サリンジャー文学の研究』（1983・東京白川書院）』▽『渥美昭夫・井上謙治著『サリンジャーの世界』（1992・荒地出版社）』▽『高橋美恵子著『J・D・サリンジャー論』（1995・桐原書店）』▽『田中啓史著『ミステリアス・サリンジャー――隠されたものがたり』（1996・南雲堂）』▽『竹内康浩著『「ライ麦畑でつかまえて」についてもう何も言いたくない――サリンジャー解体新書』（1998・荒地出版社）』▽『田中啓史編著『サリンジャー　イエローページ　作品別（1940～1965）』（2000・荒地出版社）』▽『イアン・ハミルトン著、海保真夫訳『サリンジャーをつかまえて』（文春文庫）』

出典　小学館　日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)日本大百科全書(ニッポニカ)について　情報 | 凡例