J.D. Salinger is dead. The insular writer passed away at the age of 91 in his Cornish, New Hampshire home Wednesday, the New York Times reported.

Perhaps best known for his novel “The Catcher in the Rye,” Salinger, amid his growing popularity at the time, fled the spotlight and lived out his remaining days in seclusion, a self-imposed exile, but presumably content in his solitude.

Authoring a number of short stories throughout his career including “Franny and Zooey,” “A Perfect Day for Bananafish” and the collection “Nine Stories,” none of these gained the acclamation that his lone novel did.

Bookseller F.J. Bergmann of Avol’s Bookstore said Salinger’s best known work is constantly in stock and sells year after year. She added Salinger never really achieved that level of popular appeal as he had with “The Catcher in the Rye,” though many of his other works are deeply cherished by many.

“It was really significant for adolescents of several decades. I think in some ways, it’s beginning to seem less edgy, less relevant than it did originally, but its influence has been very slow to fade,” Bergmann said.

The cynical protagonist of Salinger’s novel, Holden Caulfield, is both beloved and reviled by the countless high school students required to delve into the book. The tale of an alienated youth may seem clich? nowadays, but before any other author had portrayed so unique a character, Salinger had garnered a devout following of youth longing to forge an identity.

Caulfield served as an archetype of ennui and frustration; though perhaps his pointed demeanor has dulled in the nearly 59 years since the book’s publishing.

“I think that it still captures that isolated, awkward feeling that everyone has when they first come to campus,” UW senior Jake Aebly said. “A lot of people go so far as to say it’s their favorite book and they identify with the character of Holden. I really wouldn’t take it that far.”

Aebly noted when he first heard of Salinger’s death, he was taken aback by the knowledge that Salinger was up until this point alive, a sentiment no doubt shared by many due to the author’s seclusion.

There was a mystique surrounding Salinger and his reclusiveness, something indefinable that allowed readers to make of him whatever they chose, Bergmann said.

The argument could be made that Salinger and Caulfield, like Lord Byron and Childe Harold before him, became inseparable from the character that brought him fame. Who could blame the man for not wanting to be “phony”?

Bergmann noted that on Thursday, an individual had come in to buy “The Catcher in the Rye” simply because they had heard Salinger had passed away and they wanted to know why the man had garnered so much attention.

“If they’re only reading it because he died and they want to know why so much attention was paid to him that’s fine too,” Bergmann said. “The book has certainly not lost all its charm and maybe it never will.”