“American Express” by James Salter (1988)

The temporal shifts in James Salter’s short fiction are its

distinguishing glory. Decades unfold inside the beat of a

sentence; a single moment might linger unspoken for many

pages. Time seems to concertina, expanding and

contracting to open out pockets of aromatic description. In

“American Express”, a pair of venal New York lawyers make

a shabby killing and embark with their riches on a playboy

jaunt through Italy, where one of them takes up with a

schoolgirl. The story deals in oxymorons – bitter desire, weak

power – and jolts to a conclusion that is harsh, cool, indelible.

Kevin Barry