Five New Salinger Books on the Way?

That is what the rumor is as to the big reveal the director of the upcoming documentary, Salinger, has promised:

This is like spoiling the end of a movie — Weinstein was strangely right — but the news is too great not to share. According to new reports from The New York Times and the Associated Press, there will be new published works by the notoriously reclusive author starting in 2015. There are five new pieces in total, they involve some of Salinger's most beloved characters, and this delayed schedule was Salinger's plan. Before his death, Salinger instructed his estate as to when and how to release the works. The Times has the most detailed summation of the forthcoming stories:

One collection, to be called “The Family Glass,” would add five new stories to an assembly of previously published stories about the fictional Glass family, which figured in Mr. Salinger’s “Franny and Zooey” and elsewhere, according to the claims, which surfaced in interviews and previews of the documentary and book last week.

Another would include a retooled version of a publicly known but unpublished tale, “The Last and Best of the Peter Pans,” which is to be collected with new stories and existing work about the fictional Caulfields, including “Catcher in the Rye.” The new works are said to include a story-filled “manual” of the Vedanta religious philosophy, with which Mr. Salinger was deeply involved; a novel set during World War II and based on his first marriage; and a novella modeled on his own war experiences.

So this is Salerno and Weinstein's big reveal, the secrets teased in the intense lead-up to the release of the book and movie next week. They kept everything under wraps until now, as is only appropriate for a Salinger project.

More from the Glass family and the Caulfields?  That would be interesting.  Just a little speculation on my part, but I'm guessing that Salinger wouldn't release any of the stories during his life because he didn't want to deal with the buildup and then probable disappointment those works would engender.  After so long without producing anything, whatever he wrote would be eagerly anticipated, and probably couldn't live up to the hype.  But maybe we'll find out whether that is the case in a few short years.

The first review of the book accompanying the documentary's release is not extremely flattering.