Dusk and Other Stories

James Salter is an author with an impassioned following among contemporary readers, writers, and critics, andDusk and Other Storiesis among his signal achievements. First published nearly a quarter-century ago, and one of the very few short-story collections to win the PEN/Faulkner Award, this is American fiction at its most vital-each narrative a masterpiece of sustained power and seemingly effortless literary grace. These stories chart the myriad moments and details that, taken together, shape a fate. Two New York attorneys newly flush with wealth embark on a dissolute tour of Italy. A divorced woman learns that she is about to lose the last thing of real value to her. An ambitious young screenwriter unexpectedly discovers the true meaning of art and glory. A rider, far off in the fields, is involved in an horrific accident-night is falling, and she must face her destiny alone. Each of these stories is told with weighted calm, with a lingering mixture of precision and sudden revelation. They confirm James Salter as one of the finest writers of our time.

 James Salter is the author of the novels Light Years, A Sport and a Pastime, Solo Faces, The Arm of Flesh (revised as Cassada), and The Hunters, the memoirs Gods of Tin and Burning the Days, and the collection Last Night.
 
Philip Gourevitch’s books have received numerous honors, including the National Book Critics Circle Award. He has served as editor of The Paris Review and is a longtime staff writer for The New Yorker.