James Salter (1) (1925–2015)
Author of A Sport and a Pastime
For other authors named James Salter, see the disambiguation page.
About the Author
James Arnold Horowitz (June 10, 1925 - June 19, 2015), better known as James Salter, his pen name and later-adopted legal name, was an American novelist and short-story writer. Originally a career officer and pilot in the United States Air Force, he resigned from the military in 1957 following the show more successful publication of his first novel, The Hunters. Salter published a collection of short stories, Dusk and Other Stories in 1988. The collection received the PEN/Faulkner Award, and one of its stories ("Twenty Minutes") became the basis for the 1996 film, Boys. He was elected to The American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2000. In 2012, PEN/Faulkner Foundation selected him for the 25th PEN/Malamud Award. Salter Died on June 19, 2015. He was 90. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Works by James Salter
Associated Works
Object Lessons: The Paris Review Presents the Art of the Short Story (2012) — Contributor — 220 copies
Eat, Memory: Great Writers at the Table: A Collection of Essays from the New York Times (2008) — Contributor — 167 copies
Who's Writing This? Notations on the Authorial I, with Self-Portraits {not Antæus} (1995) — Contributor — 72 copies
Amerikaanse droom : verhalen van Pearl Abraham, Douglas Coupland, Charles D'Ambrosio, Kathryn Harrison, Jay McInerney,… (1997) — Contributor — 5 copies
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Legal name
- Horowitz, James A.
- Birthdate
- 1925-06-10
- Date of death
- 2015-06-19
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- New York, New York, USA
- Place of death
- Sag Harbor, New York, USA
- Places of residence
- New York, New York, USA
Bitburg, Germany
France
Bridgehampton, New York, USA - Education
- United States Military Academy (1945)
Georgetown University - Occupations
- novelist
short story writer
airforce officer - Organizations
- US Air Force (335th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron ∙ 4th Fighter-Interceptor Wing)
American Academy of Arts and Letters ( [2000]) - Awards and honors
- State Author of New York/Edith Wharton Citation of Merit (1998-2000)
American Academy of Arts and Letters Academy Award (Literature ∙ 1981)
Windham–Campbell Literature Prize (2013) - Short biography
- http://easthamptonstar.com/Obituaries...
Members
Reviews
Lists
Five star books (2)
Favourite Books (1)
THE WAR ROOM (1)
Backlisted (1)
Page Turners (1)
A Novel Cure (1)
Awards
You May Also Like
Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 28
- Also by
- 16
- Members
- 6,606
- Popularity
- #3,710
- Rating
- 3.7
- Reviews
- 207
- ISBNs
- 279
- Languages
- 14
- Favorited
- 36
I've read other reviewers accusing this novel specifically, and sometimes Salter generally, of misogyny. And I can see it. His other novels I've read, which I did in fact like, are strongly male-centered points of view and they treat women as accessories, generally, and not always kindly. But this novel goes considerably further in its unflattering treatment of female characters, though the men often appear as assholes as well. I do find myself wondering if when he writes of a character he is succinctly describing his own attitude.
And I have to wonder why so many of the characters Salter creates here are said to be on their third marriage or so, even when the character only appears for a few pages and that information wouldn't seem all that important: Wells only exists for 3 pages. Hinds exists for one page.
There are plenty of other examples. What's with the compulsion to give so many characters so many spouses? To show how much you don't believe in things like commitment?
So then there's the ugliest chapter near the end, in which our protagonist, Philip Bowman, seduces the college aged daughter of a former lover who betrayed him, flies her to Paris with him, fucks her a few more times, then abandons her alone in a hotel room with no money.
Well, at least she's still fresh, thank God, even after the deflowering by an asshole decades older than she is. Shit.
… (more)