And then you have the one-hit wonders, people that produce a single magnificent piece of literature and then nothing again. Harper Lee came out of nowhere with To Kill a Mockingbird and to nowhere she returned save for a cameo in In Cold Blood. J. D. Salinger did the same with Catcher in the Rye, with it and a few short stories representing his entire oeuvre. We can even add Joseph Heller to that pile, since so much of his limited later work is a pale reflection of Catch-22.

People often wonder why this happens, but it seems perfectly clear: the novels are autobiographical to the extent that the author’s voice and the main character’s voice merge and are one and the same. Harper Lee was Scout Finch. Holden Caulfield represented the deepest opinions that Salinger held, ones he was afraid to declare openly. Heller was a smartass and a war veteran. The authors told only one story because they had only lived one story.