by James Salter
First published 2006
A translator sits beside his wife as she prepares to die by her own choice. She has asked him to help her, and he agrees, even though he carries the weight of his recent betrayal. This title story anchors a collection of ten tales that follow men and women at their most vulnerable moments. A poetry enthusiast faces his wife's demand that he abandon his most cherished relationship. A book dealer confronts harsh realities about the life he has built. Each story captures people at crossroads where desire collides with duty, where love transforms into something more complex and painful. Salter writes with precision about the spaces between what people want and what they can have. His characters navigate marriages, affairs, and friendships that shift beneath them like unstable ground. The stories move between moments of tenderness and cruelty, showing how passion can both destroy and redeem the same person.
Genres: short-stories, literary-fiction, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, intimate
Tropes: crossroads, tender-and-cruel
144 pages · Paperback · Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Content warnings: suicide