Holden Caulfield wins

"Sequel to Catcher in the Rye 'banned in US'"

January 13th, 2011

BBC NEWS

A book billed as the sequel to JD Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye has been banned from release in the US, according to reports.

Swedish author Fredrik Colting reached a settlement with Salinger's estate to end a lengthy copyright dispute over the book, Publishers Weekly said.

As part of the deal, the book cannot be published in the US or Canada. But it can be sold in other countries.

Colting must also stop calling his work 60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye.

Prior to his death one year ago, Salinger had taken legal action against Colting, who wrote his work under the pseudonym John David California.

According to the late author's lawyers, the book - published in the UK in June 2009 - was "a rip-off, pure and simple".

The Swedish author claimed his book - which features a character based on Salinger's anti-hero Holden Caulfield - was a literary commentary and not a sequel.

But a US judge blocked its publication in North America, saying it mirrored Salinger's original too closely.

'Very pleased'

Colting was granted an appeal last May, but the settlement was reached before the case went to trial.

Under the terms of the deal, Colting is forbidden from dedicating the book to Salinger.

It also prohibits him or any publisher of the book from referring to The Catcher in the Rye or Salinger.

They are also prevented from using the copyright claim or Salinger's so-called "ban" to promote the work.

"We've come to an agreement with the Salinger trust but I'm afraid I can't go into any specifics," Colting told Publishers Weekly.

"Let's just say that the book will be published in a number of countries this year and I'm very pleased with that."

The Catcher In The Rye, a tale of adolescent alienation, is one of the most influential American novels of the modern era.

The book sees Caulfield wandering around New York and railing against the establishment following his expulsion from boarding school.

Colting's novel sees a 76-year-old called "Mr C" escape from a retirement home and head to New York.

On its website, its UK publisher Windupbird describes it as a "speculative psychological mystery".