A major new novel, his first work of fiction in seven years, from the universally acclaimed master and PEN/Faulkner winner: a sweeping, seductive love story set in the years after World War II.
From his experiences as a young naval officer in battles off Okinawa, Philip Bowman returns to America and finds a position as a book editor. In a world of dinners, deals, and literary careers, Bowman finds that he fits in perfectly. But despite his success, what eludes him is love. His first marriage goes bad, another fails to happen, and finally he meets a woman who enthrals him before setting him on a course he could never imagine for himself.
Romantic and haunting, All That Is explores a life unfolding in an unforgettable world on the brink of change – a dazzling, sometimes devastating labyrinth of love and ambition, a fiercely intimate account of the great shocks and grand pleasures of being alive.
‘Salter is the contemporary writer most admired and envied by other writers . . . he can, when he wants, break your heart with a sentence’ Michael Dirda, Washington Post
‘James Salter can suggest in a single sentence an individual’s entire history’ Michiko Kakutani, New York Times
‘There is scarcely a writer alive who could not learn from his passion and precision of language’ Peter Matthiessen
‘Salter is a writer who particularly rewards those for whom reading is an intense pleasure. He is among the very few North American writers all of whose work I want to read, whose as yet unpublished books I wait for impatiently.’ Susan Sontag
'This masterpiece is a smooth, absorbing narrative studded with bright particulars. If God is in the details, this book is divine.' Edmund White
'Enthralling . . . A vividly imagined and beautifully written evocation of a postwar world.' John Banville
'A beautiful novel, with sufficient love, heartbreak, vengeance, identity confusion, longing, and euphoria of language to have satisfied Shakespeare.' John Irving
'A consistently elegant and enjoyable novel, full of verve and wisdom.' Julian Barnes
'The best novel I’ve read in years. All That Is will be treasured by its readers. Salter’s vivid, lucid prose does exquisite justice to his subject―the relentless struggle to make good on our own humanity. Once again he has delivered to us a novel of the highest artistry.' Tim O’Brien
'A sweeping, precise, heartfelt and wondrous tale of American life, a book that somehow manages to deal with everyday existence, yet elevate that familiar tale to something deep and profound . . . here Salter is brilliant at evoking the mundane buzz and thrum of existence, and he does so in terse, clipped prose that somehow courses with a life all its own.' Big Issue
