All That Is by James Salter

Buoyed by the 5 star ratings on Goodreads, I was excited to dive into this one by a respected author. I ususally don't do spoilers but seeing as how NOTHING happins in this book spanning 4 decades, I'm not giving anything away.  We start out on a promising note with a protagonist in the Pacific Fleet during WW2, and find out he was raised by a single mother.  OK, maybe these forces somehow shape his later life?  Nah!!

He ends up in New York, goes into publishing, marries, divorces, has a career and several love affairs, gets hollow revenge. But there's no emotion, no dramatic crescendo, no storyline - just an average white guy and his ordinary life, with ordinary friends and lovers meandering through their ordinary lives.  Salter definitely knows how to turn a phrase, but EXCUUUUSE ME - - I would like a PLOT please!!!    Sexist, with vacuous characters, this book feels like bad B/W movies from the '40s - - no wait! At least they had plots.  

Oh, and by the way, that guy swimming on the front cover?  Has nothing to do with the book.