The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles (1949)

My Posts on Paul Bowles

Paul Bowles (1910- born in New York City, died 1999 in Tangiers) was a highly talented composer, a great writer and is probably most now remembered as Counter-Culture icon of the 1960s.  (There is some background information on Bowles in my posts on those of his  short stories I have read.)  Bowles spent many years of his life living in Tangiers.  He was deeply into the culture of the region.  

Bowles' most read literary work is his novel, set in Algeria, The Sheltering Sky.  It a book people fall in love with.  It is the story of three Americans on a journey of no real purpose across North Africa.  It helps us see into the impact of colonialism, Algeria being at the time a French colony, on the colonized and the colonizer.  Taliking place in a setting of savage beauty, the Americans look upon the inhabitants as little more than tourist couriousties, the good ones are servile and obsequious, the bad ones are sinister, nearly beyond the bounds of reason.  They are always concerned with being robbed, with whether or not they can find any edible food.  The descriptions of the desert landscape are very evocative and powerful.  The central characters in the novel are perfectly realized. 

The Sheltering Sky  is a very deep book. In my opinion going further into the roots of racism and the colonial mentality than The Heart of Darkness.  In the very powerful closing sections of the book we see how colonialism is tied into visions of masculinity, of the white traveler in a place where he thinks he can do whatever he wants. It is also about the nature of travel, being a stranger in a strange land.  It is a very painterly book.

Scene from the movie based on the book

I hope to reread this book in 2015.  I have a collection of sixty five of his stories and will be working my way through them.   This is truly a great work of art.

Please share your experience with Bowles with us.

Mel u