One of the greatest mysteries of American literature - what is J. D. Salinger worked for the last 50 years of his life, could be solved by a new biography of the author of "The Catcher in the Rye".
David Shields and Shane Salerno state that the biography of the writer who almost completely withdrew from the public in the 1960s should be released on September 3, and three days later Salerno's documentary about this writer should be shown.
One part of the book focuses on the hero of "The Catcher in the Rye" Holden Caulfield and his family, while the other part deals with the writer's war years and his interest in Eastern religions. The new material will also include the story of the Glas family from "Freni and Zui".
Trailer for the Salinger movie directed by David Shields and Shane Salerno
No book by Salinger has been published since the early 1960s, when he retired from public life. Over the past 50 years, there has been extensive and conflicting speculation about what Salinger was doing in self-imposed isolation.
It is well known that Salinger wrote - his friends, neighbors and family members said he was writing in his final years before his death in 2010. Salinger himself said in a 1974 New York Times interview that he wrote every day, but for himself.
However, there is no information about what he wrote or specific information about what Salinger kept in his safe in his house in New Hampshire.
Until now, neither Salerno nor Shields were known as connoisseurs of Salinger's work. Salerno is a Hollywood screenwriter who, among other things, worked on the movie "Armageddon" and the sequel to "Avatar", while Shields is known for the documentary book "Dead Languages" about professional baseball.
Their 700-page book on Salinger presents new information, rare photographs and letters, previously unknown details about the writer's wartime years and brief first marriage. There is also an interview with Jean Miller, who Salinger was with before she was an adult. Miller was also the inspiration for Salinger's story "For Esme".
The biography also states that Salinger, who allegedly avoided Hollywood, almost agreed to "Esme" getting a film adaptation.
The biography "Salinger" presents, but also disputes, many legends associated with the writer. He is portrayed as a person very traumatized by the war experience, but also taken aback by his fame after "The Catcher in the Rye".
However, in this book, Salinger seems far less lonely than he has been led to believe. The biography outlines his penchant for younger women - the book closely follows his strong attachments to teenage Una O'Neill in the 1940s and Joyce Maynard in the 1970s.
The book includes statements from Salinger's children, writers Tom Wolfe and Gore Vidal, and even Mark David Chapman, who stated that "The Catcher in the Rye" was the reason he killed John Lennon.
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