Light Years

by James Salter

By common consent ( but for one lady) this was a beautiful book, one we had pleasure reading if only to savour the elegant, delicate, lyric prose enhanced by the «  staccato rhythm » of the text as one of us rightly  put it.

At first sight, this story might have looked frivolous and not interesting. But we soon found out that this was an in depth character study, a reflection about the American society and  what has become of the American dream.

 It tells us  about the desintegration of love in a couple, about non achievement and the fear of ageing.

The plot is about the passage of time  ( light years) and what it does to people.

It touches an important question about appearance ( success, fame, money) and substance(  love, fulfilment)

about the perceived ( friends, social life) and the truth ( personal and material frustration ),

about conventional life and intimate life.

A couple embodies these themes and the tumult of separation :

VIRI, an ordinary man, a faltering architect who wished he was famous. He is pathetic.

« At the heart of illusions was the famous building he wished he had created ».

NEDRA, his wife for whom happiness in the end meant «  to be free ». Her husband’s frustration was partly the cause of their couple’s life  wearing out.

«  Any two people when they separate, it’s like splitting a log. The pieces aren’t even. One of them contains the core. Viri has his work. But it is Nedra who carried off the sacred part. She can live and be happy. He can’t. »

What we also noticed was the numerous references  to «  the art of civilization in Europe ».

Are the writers from the East coast of the USA still drawn towards the old Europe ?

                                                                                                        

                                                                                                      Anne Van Calster