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A review by richardrbecker
A Sport and a Pastime by James Salter
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
A Sport and a Pastime is a beguiling novel taken out of time. Written in 1967, many will taken aback by its voyeuristic, often misogynistic tone. But if you can get beyond it, you'll discover a treasure trove of lucid writing and characters heartbroken by feeling directionless despite having one of the most romantic backdrops for their time — sparsely populated villages in rural France.
A Sport and a Pastime is about an affair between a young American man, Philip Dean, and an eighteen-year-old French girl named Anne-Marie. It's told by an unnamed narrator in his mid-thirties, who hooks up with Philip while spending some time in Autun. What's remarkable about the narrator is he has details that are so remarkably intimate; there are times you wonder if he imagines the bulk of it. Other times, you might even wonder if he is Dean (which he is not).
Phillip and the narrator met as many reasonably affluent Americans did in France then. On one of their outings, the narrator first spotted Anne-Marie. Despite this, it is Philip and Anne-Marie hook up, and everything we know about their relationship is told to us almost entirely through the narrator's imagination. Primarily, they drive around these small towns and engage in some highly charged erotic encounters, which would have been insanely taboo for their time. Of course, they may not do any of it, given that the narrator admits to not being reliable in his telling.
The novel is provocative given the narrator's circumstances and perhaps his unexpressed feelings toward Anne-Marie, combined with an apparent jealousy of Phillip's ease. The narrator's admiration for Philip and yet need to undercut him as needy and undeserving drives much of the story's undercurrent conflict. Salter somehow manages all this in a novel that is surprisingly thin on plot. And while it may be a good idea to heed the advice of other reviewers and read something else by Slater first, I added the novel to my favorite's shelf for another pass. Salter is one of those writers just under the radar in an era rich with brilliant storytellers and perfect for study.
A Sport and a Pastime is about an affair between a young American man, Philip Dean, and an eighteen-year-old French girl named Anne-Marie. It's told by an unnamed narrator in his mid-thirties, who hooks up with Philip while spending some time in Autun. What's remarkable about the narrator is he has details that are so remarkably intimate; there are times you wonder if he imagines the bulk of it. Other times, you might even wonder if he is Dean (which he is not).
Phillip and the narrator met as many reasonably affluent Americans did in France then. On one of their outings, the narrator first spotted Anne-Marie. Despite this, it is Philip and Anne-Marie hook up, and everything we know about their relationship is told to us almost entirely through the narrator's imagination. Primarily, they drive around these small towns and engage in some highly charged erotic encounters, which would have been insanely taboo for their time. Of course, they may not do any of it, given that the narrator admits to not being reliable in his telling.
The novel is provocative given the narrator's circumstances and perhaps his unexpressed feelings toward Anne-Marie, combined with an apparent jealousy of Phillip's ease. The narrator's admiration for Philip and yet need to undercut him as needy and undeserving drives much of the story's undercurrent conflict. Salter somehow manages all this in a novel that is surprisingly thin on plot. And while it may be a good idea to heed the advice of other reviewers and read something else by Slater first, I added the novel to my favorite's shelf for another pass. Salter is one of those writers just under the radar in an era rich with brilliant storytellers and perfect for study.