There & Then: The Travel Writings of James Salter
by James Salter
The trouble with most travel books is that they are 'linear' -- We went here, then we did that there, did you know this, something funny happened there (ha ha), what a great trip it was.
But never will Salter write that way. His love of the Old France, skiing, a little bit of Japan they are all there. James Salter writes with a certain muted brilliance, he doesn't give his praise easily. It has to be earned.
If you are already a fan of Salter, get hold of this book. He will take you to parts of the world that we can all go to, but we can't see with his sees. That's why we read his books.
If you haven't read Salter at all (and what's been stopping you?) then get his book 'Solo Faces' first. If fiction is not for you, read his autobiographical 'Burning the Days,' an excellent book about his flying and writing life.
Don't continue to be someone who hasn't read Salter. According to Susan Sontag:
"[Salter] is among the very few North American writers all of whose work I want to read, whose as yet unpublished books I wait for impatiently."
2 comments:
Dear Ram,
Due to an editing error, the comment you posted at my blog about Salter's Last Night was inadvertently deleted. If you would like to repost your comment--or a reasonable facsimile!--I would be most grateful. The post is here. I enjoy reading your blog. (By the way, I am a former classmate of Suketu Mehta's and was very happy to see your post about him.)
Thanks for your time!
Sincerely,
Colophon
Colophon:
Thanks for taking the time to let me know. I will try and re-post my comment, though I am afraid I don't recall all of it.
As an aside, I've always thought that there should be a way for us to see all our comments on Blogspot, sprinkled among various blogs...
Ram
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