J.D. Salinger -- 1919-2010
杰罗姆•大卫•塞林格,1919年──2010年
  
Perhaps the most reluctant celebrity in the history of American letters, J.D. Salinger leaves behind some of its most-read stories.
杰罗姆•大卫•塞林格(J.D. Salinger)恐怕是美国文学史上最不愿出名的作家,但他留下了一些流传最广的小说。
  
Mr. Salinger, who died Wednesday at age 91, leaves behind one fully-realized novel ('The Catcher in the Rye') and five collections of shorter writings, all surrounded by a penumbra of unknowns about the author, who went into seclusion in 1953.
塞林格本周三逝世,享年91岁,留在世间的是一部完整的小说《麦田里的守望者》(The Catcher in the Rye),和五部短篇文集。塞格林1953年便避世而居,给他这些作品笼上了各种未解之谜。
  
Yet Mr. Salinger's books have remained highly visible, iconic presences in American classrooms and have sold more than 65 million copies. 'The Catcher in the Rye' is often cited in lists of the best 20th-century novels.
塞林格人虽退隐,书却随处可见,在美国的课堂中成了经典读物,热销6,500多万本。各种20世纪小说排行榜上,《麦田里的守望者》常常名列其中。
  
The son of a cheese importer, Mr. Salinger grew up on Manhattan's Upper West Side. He attended a military academy for high school and never graduated from college. Critics and enthusiasts had little problem drawing parallels between Mr. Salinger's youth and that of the 'Catcher in the Rye's' narrator, Holden Caulfield.
塞林格出生在一个奶酪进口商家庭,成长于曼哈顿上西区。高中上的是军校,大学没有毕业。批评或拥护者基本上都同意,塞林格和《麦田里的守望者》主角霍尔顿•考尔菲德(Holden Caulfield)经历过相似的青春期。
  
Mr. Salinger's early stories appeared in magazines while he was serving in the Army in Europe during World War II. His more mature work appeared in the New Yorker starting in the mid-1940s, including 'A Perfect Day for Bananafish.'
二战期间,塞林格在欧洲服役,这段时间在一些杂志上发表了他的早期小说。他更成熟的作品从20世纪40年代中期开始出现在《纽约客》(New Yorker)杂志上,包括《香蕉鱼的好日子》(A Perfect Day for Bananafish)。
  
'The Catcher in the Rye' caused a sensation when it was published in 1951, unusual for its salty language and sentiment, attributed to Caulfield, who styled himself an enemy of 'phonies.' Taken as portraying a thirst for authenticity by some, the work is seen by many young people these days as merely whiney.
《麦田里的守望者》在1951年发表时引起轰动。考尔菲特将自己标为“伪善者”的敌人,小说通过他的口吻吐露出刻薄的语言和情绪,在当时显得与众不同。在一些人看来,小说描绘的是对真诚的渴望。当然,当今很多年轻人觉得它不过是发发牢骚。
  
Mr. Salinger's celebrity was hardly dimmed by his decision to live out of the limelight. His last original published work, 'Hapsworth 16, 1924,' appeared in the New Yorker in 1965. Visitors who caught sight of him in New Hampshire where he lived described an unkempt recluse.
塞格林远离聚光灯而生活,但知名度并没有怎么下降。按最初发表的时间计算,他最后一部作品是《纽约客》1965年刊登的《哈普沃兹16世,1924》(Hapsworth 16, 1924)。曾有访客在其居住地新罕布什尔州见过他,把他描绘成一位不修边幅的隐士。
  
More and more, his public face consisted of lawsuits brought against unauthorized publishers of his early works or unpublished letters. After Mr. Salinger filed suit, a federal judge last year barred a Swedish writer and publisher from publishing a sequel to 'Catcher in the Rye.'
他的公共形象越来越多地呈现为控告出版商未经授权发表了他的早期作品或未出版的信件。经塞林格诉讼,去年一位联邦法官对一位瑞典作家兼出版商出版《麦田里的守望者》续集的行为下达了禁令。
  
Mr. Salinger's death is almost certain to generate renewed interest in his work and increasing pressure to bring his work to the big screen.
塞林格逝世后,人们无疑会对他的作品给予新一轮关注,并会有越来越高的呼声把他的作品搬上银幕。