A Sport and a Pastime - James Salter BOOK REVIEW (Spoilers)
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- Опубликовано: 2 авг 2024
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It was one of the first books I read in college for ‘obvious’ reasons but it turned out to be so much more than what I thought it’d be. Left a huge impression on me.
Speaking of dying young and leaving a good looking corpse, I'll never forget the quote from My Year of Rest and Relaxation: Die young and leave a beautiful corpse. Who said that? Someone who liked fucking corpses.
Fantastic novel. Light Years is another great novel of his and Burning the Days, his memoir. It's fascinating to read about his life travelling the world in the air force to exotic locations around the world, his life as a pilot and his romantic pursuit of the best out of life. A life extremely well-lived.
I remember first encountering this book in an indie bookstore than no longer exists. Love Salter’s writing. Be sure not to miss Light Years. Cheers, Cliff!
Just finished this book yesterday, and my god was it a meal of its own. I read Light Years first and became obsessed with not only his writings, but more specifically his sentences. Salter can stop your heart with a simple sentence. Truly powerful. There’s a sense of vulnerability in his voice and fragmented sentence structure that is haunting.
Glad you enjoyed it, man. Hope you get a chance to read Light Years.
Cliff, "The faults that make someone truly beautiful" is a great quote, which I intent to use.
Guys, do yourself a big favor and read "Light Years"by Salter. Absolute jewels of love, loneliness and the wonderful within the ordinary of life.
I love when you said you wish we had a similar experience at least for some time. It is my hope anyone can enjoy something like that too. It is life-changing and - opposite to most would think- leaves you with real expectations on love and being loved. Thank you! Just got the book 💐
Eww cooties.
Thank you for this review and for wishing us readers to experience a relationship of this nature without the tragedy. This is another book that's on my list of books to read in 2023. Peace ✌🏽 ☮️
Cliff! the hair is on point 👌
Great review, thanks much for such thoughtful perspective. this novel will be on the shelf to read soon now.
Man..your videos deserve more views... Your book reviews are the best.... Hope you get more subscribers
His novel Light Years is also beautifully written.
Oh, I thought the name James Salter seemed familiar
Gives me so much inspiration! Thanks
This is an honest review man. You poured your heart into it. It’s great. Thank you.
This is a fantastic review, Cliff. Well done. I’ll have to take a look at Salter.
Cliff, you are the best! Keep up the good work.
Ian McEwan's On Chesil Beach is another great description of a young s*xual relationship, but one that goes wrong. It is so realistic that it is hard to read. There is genuine romance between the characters, but the story reveals that a lot has to do with the fantasies of the persons. To what degree are all human relations illusory this way? What is real?
So true! Are you in love with the person? Or the idea of the person?
Great as always. Send me tips for how you got your hair like that.
Irwin Shaw's short story collection Mixed Company is amazing and influenced several famous screenwriters. Had a lot of death but only implied sex. Instant recommendation. Great video as always Cliff.
One of the best novels I read last year, it’s wonderful.
Can really feel your love for this book. Gonna have to get it for myself Cliffy!
Your older backdrop with stacks and stacks of books looked pretty rad. BTW good review. Please review the Rivethead by Ben Hamper one of my favourites.
I still highly recommend that you check out John Hawkes' great The Blood Oranges which is very much about both sex and death and yet somehow also not about them at all as they are so fully realized as to be entirely transformed. It's got a connection to The Good Soldier too.
Just putting this out there before I watch the video. This is one of my favorite books!!!
Nice look!
Great, great book, one of my very favorites, should be required reading for every impressionable young man about to travel overseas.
We all in the West have been brainwashed with the idea that the ultimate bliss in life is an overwhelming romantic infatuation. That is basically what the entire popular culture is about. It would be much much healthier to remind that everybody will not experience that in their life ever - and it is not a tragedy. All of those who do experience it, do not even enjoy it. To maintain this idea that on death bed you will feel that you failed in life, because you did not experience the big romance, is harmful and not true. Most people live fairly uneventful lives, but every life is still a big adventure. To exist is a mystery and a miracle. The longer you live the better you may realize this and the more exciting life becomes.
I might add that we are a Capitalist Society and in this particular one, it's sex that sells.
Interesting review… You should read Irwin Shawn’s short stories; they are e excellent! Well worth your time.
Thanks for this. I've just finished it and was it was great, fantastic, stylish writing.
i wish you were my professor
I always thought that you reminded me of someone and its true you are a mix of paul Anderson and ben barnes and that's a lucky mix to have
Another great review. Wolf Hall is replete with sex and death. A tome that one wishes were longer. I'll gladly buy it for you if it appears on your wishlist.
I may have found a book you could read sometime: Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften / The Man Without Qualities by Robert Musil.
A bilingual novel where you leave in a foreign characters grammatical mistakes would be such a unique idea. Like a dialogue between languages. Don’t know if it would sell, though…
It’s already been done by many authors, most recently I read a book by Jeff Eugandies that had something similar. Almost every new literary idea you have can be found to be done. Literature has been through every melting and mixing pot you can imagine 😅
got a feeling you would enjoy Anais Nin's diaries
read the toilers of the sea
"Žaidimas Ir pramoga", lithuanian translation. 🇱🇹
I’d like to participate more in the discord thread but it’s difficult to talk about a book without including some kind of spoiler.
“Write or parish” is an awesome sentiment.
Are you suggesting "authorship or priesthood"??
@@BooksForever Ha! Both involve commitment, so whichever one you fancy!
I just ordered this book. Excited to read. Last summer I studied in paris and had a very intense affair with a French guy so interested to read
I want to know all about the pause at 9:38
Can someone start a Better Than Book Food Reviews channel
♠️❤ 😊
do memory of departure next by abdulrazak gurnah
🤎🌊🌊🌀🌀
Neil Griffiths loves James Salter. He’s got a good channel too.
Nice review.
I’ve read ASAAP. Salter “captures the essence of things” (the ticking of a clock, say) better than any writer I’ve read.
I found some of it (1% of it) a bit distasteful. You’ll have this great writing and then, suddenly, he’s dropping “c*nt”, in its original meaning. I get it. Still, not the most sophisticated technique.
I first heard of Salter when writer Alice Zeniter mentioned him as one of the best American authors of his generation with respect to writing style, so I read this book and it was a complete disappointment. It shows a skewed view of society, lumping all the expectations of an American life in France into one big cliché. The description of sex is one of the most male-gaze I've read in a long time, describing only the availability of desire on the part of the man leaving the submissive/passive role to the woman among other things; not to mention that the story itself is pointless. Unfortunately, the style does not reflect any mastery on the French translation version.
F**k it. I'm going to translate this book. I WILL translate it. I don't care if they kill me!