Frederic Beigbeder. Oona & Salinger

With his characteristic desire to shock, Frédéric Beigbeder defines the genre of his new book, "Oona & Salinger," as "faction": from the English "fact" plus "fiction." The facts are simple: 1940, New York City. 21-year-old aspiring writer Jerry Salinger meets 15-year-old Oona O'Neill, the daughter of a famous playwright. The idyll didn't last long; a few months later, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, and the United States entered World War II. Salinger went off to fight in Europe, and Oona decided to try her luck at a screen test for a Charlie Chaplin film. She landed the leading role in the great comedian's life, becoming his wife. Salinger fought honorably, then made his way through magazine publications into major literature, and finally created his crowning work, "The Catcher in the Rye." But Beigbeder is interested not so much in the facts as in the magical meeting of the heroes, which turned into a separation for life, becoming what defines life.
"Reciprocated love is happy, but ordinary; gallant love is painful, but sublime. Salinger and Oona are the story of gallant love. Chaplin and Oona are the happiest marriage I know. Life can be considered perfect if you experience both, like Oona."
Frederic Beigbeder