An oft-noted distinction within literary texts is whether they emphasize showing the characters in action over telling the reader about them. Exposition vs. theatrical action. Of course, this is a simplification. (Of course). Our friends Plato and Aristotle wrote about this stuff. Plato talked about diegesis and mimesis. (Indistinct yelling. A loud crash). What? These posts are getting worse—first you introduce a sexy title, and then start talking about Plato. What is the poi

This week, a new work of fiction, “A Sport and a Pastime” written by James Salter, published in 1967. I first learned of Salter belatedly after reading his 2015 obituary. In short order, I read “Light Years;” “Sport,” and two collections of his short stories. The memory of a first reading might elide certain central features, leaving the reader with the sense the novel is the vivid story of an affair between Phillip Dean and Anne-Marie Costallat in the provincial France of ar