I recently finished reading the novella 'Seymour: An Introduction' by J.D. Salinger. I had not read it before. It was really good, though, and complimented 'Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters' well.
This book felt more like an essay that the author wrote about his brother than an actual novella, but, regardless, his prose is gorgeously executed and, at times, quite moving. Especially with the understanding of what Seymour's untimely fate ended up being (he died by suicide while on vacation with his wife in Florida), it makes the insight into what made him tick as a person that much more poignant.
I received this book from my mother as she was thinning down her book collection. As I mentioned elsewhere, this was bought from a used book store a long time ago - the same store where I bought some of my first novels.
J.D. Salinger wasn't prolific in terms of what has been published...I'm not clear if he wrote a lot privately and kept much of it to himself like other authors have done. I suspect he did. But I know as well as anyone that one can love writing and resist doing it frequently, so who knows.
There's still more by Salinger that I have not read despite his not being prolific. I read them occasionally and, when I do, I savor them. He's an admirable writer. One of the greats.