The Catch

Catcher In The Rye was published in 1951, following which its author J.D. Salinger withdrew from all public life and since then has almost disappeared. Catch 22 was published in 1961 and there were strong claims that Joseph Heller, keeping the quality of his previous works in mind and his general persona, was incapable of writing a novel of the quality of Catch 22.

Claire Douglas, Salinger’s wife says, “I was shocked when I read Catch 22. He (Salinger) had been working on something that must have been very very similar. I can’t be sure because he never let anyone see what he was writing but from what he had said about his work, I am certain that it (Salinger’s work) must have been something on the same lines”.

Apart from the fact that when Catch 22 was released almost everyone who read it agreed that – it could very well have been Salinger’s follow up of Catcher In The Rye; there were a lot of unofficial reports that Catch 22 was not Heller’s original work. His close friend, Matthew Ponty, said the following in 1971 to a local reporter – “I am quite sure Joseph was receiving mails regularly from some address in Cornish, New Hampshire. Once he had told me – ‘someday my conscience will prick me for this, but even he insists so that relieves me a little.’ He had said that out of the blue as if he was talking to himself when I was sitting right in front of him. He refused to say anything more and asked me to leave immediately. That was very unlike Joseph.”
Cornish, New Hampshire is where Salinger had withdrawn to with his wife.

A lot of questioned are thus raised and are left unanswered. However the fact remains that – one cannot trust official versions in these situations.