All That Is Reading Guide & Discussion Questions

Book Club Discussion Questions

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For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, Small-Town Wonders and our BookBrowse Review of All That Is.

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

1. All That Is is preceded by an epigraph: "There comes a time when you realize that everything is a dream, and only those things preserved in writing have any possibility of being real." In what ways does this enigmatic statement illuminate the story that follows? Why would it be that only things preserved in writing are "real"?
2. James Salter has been called "a writer's writer" and praised for the artistry of his sentences. What are the most appealing qualities of Salter's prose style? In what ways does his writing differ from that of most contemporary novelists?
3. The novel is told primarily from Bowman's point of view, but the narrative shifts perspectives, and the narrator reveals things that Bowman can't know about. What is the effect of Salter switching between viewpoints and keeping a fair authorial distance from his characters?

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Vintage. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.