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A review by loonyboi
Burning the Days: Recollection by James Salter
5.0
A wonderful, unconventional sort of autobiography. It's subtitled, "a recollection" and that's an accurate description. Salter leaps around in time, telling the complete stories of people he meets. Partially due to his colorful life, and partially due to its length, this typically means we find out how everyone dies. Which is a little sad, but you get used to it.
Burning the Days is effectively divided into four parts: his early life in New York, his days as a fighter pilot, his time as a screenwriter, and finally his life as a novelist. Some of these I felt like I'd read before. His novels [b:The Hunters|174621|The Hunters|James Salter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320504686s/174621.jpg|168680] and [b:Cassada|174625|Cassada|James Salter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347630860s/174625.jpg|2083413] are so autobiographical that out of context I would have had a hard time telling which book certain passages were from. Similarly, the last portion shows how his life clearly influenced [b:Light Years|174622|Light Years|James Salter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1374594784s/174622.jpg|2825318], [b:All That Is|13330444|All That Is|James Salter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344618906s/13330444.jpg|18538084] and [b:Dusk and Other Stories|174626|Dusk and Other Stories|James Salter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1312020237s/174626.jpg|168685]. I point this out, but I don't consider this a negative. I adore Salter's writing, and reading where life and art intertwined was one of the joys of this book.
Salter is a treasure. He has little regard for most of his work, constantly comparing himself to other writers. I respectfully disagree. I highly recommend Burning the Days, particularly if you've read his other work.
Burning the Days is effectively divided into four parts: his early life in New York, his days as a fighter pilot, his time as a screenwriter, and finally his life as a novelist. Some of these I felt like I'd read before. His novels [b:The Hunters|174621|The Hunters|James Salter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320504686s/174621.jpg|168680] and [b:Cassada|174625|Cassada|James Salter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1347630860s/174625.jpg|2083413] are so autobiographical that out of context I would have had a hard time telling which book certain passages were from. Similarly, the last portion shows how his life clearly influenced [b:Light Years|174622|Light Years|James Salter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1374594784s/174622.jpg|2825318], [b:All That Is|13330444|All That Is|James Salter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344618906s/13330444.jpg|18538084] and [b:Dusk and Other Stories|174626|Dusk and Other Stories|James Salter|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1312020237s/174626.jpg|168685]. I point this out, but I don't consider this a negative. I adore Salter's writing, and reading where life and art intertwined was one of the joys of this book.
Salter is a treasure. He has little regard for most of his work, constantly comparing himself to other writers. I respectfully disagree. I highly recommend Burning the Days, particularly if you've read his other work.