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The Sheltering Sky (Penguin Modern Classics) [Paperback]

Paul Bowles (Author), Paul Theroux (Introduction)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
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Book Description

Publication Date: 29 Jan 2004 | ISBN-10: 0141187778 | ISBN-13: 978-0141187778 | Edition: Re-issue

'The Sheltering Sky is a book about people on the edge of an alien space; somewhere where, curiously, they are never alone' Michael Hoffman.

Port and Kit Moresbury, a sophisticated American couple, are finding it more than a little difficult to live with each other. Endeavouring to escape this predicament, they set off for North Africa intending to travel through Algeria - uncertain of exactly where they are heading, but determined to leave the modern world behind. The results of this casually taken decision are both tragic and compelling.

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Product details

  • Paperback: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Classics; Re-issue edition (29 Jan 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0141187778
  • ISBN-13: 978-0141187778
  • Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 2.1 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 15,146 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Review

"It stands head and shoulders above most other novels published in English since World War II."--"The New Republic""[The Sheltering Sky] is one of the most original, even visionary, works of fiction to appear in this century."--Tobias Wolff

From the Back Cover

Port and Kit Moresbury, a sophisticated American couple, are finding it more than a little difficult to live with each other. Endeavouring to escape this predicament, they set off for North Africa intending to travel through Morocco – uncertain of exactly where they are heading, but determined to leave the modern world behind. Port, a musician, is seeking inspiration; Kit, his wife, hopes their adventure together will save their marriage… The first novel of one of the most fascinating and elusive writers of modern times, 'The Sheltering Sky' is a mesmerising story of love and alienation.

‘'Now and then, perhaps once in five or six years, a novel appears which does not repeat the pattern of commonplace existence that readers of novels know so well, but makes us realise that our life is extraordinary. 'The Sheltering Sky' is such a novel.'’
OBSERVER

‘'A phenomenon rarer than sword-swallowing: a work of fiction which also happens to be a work of art'’
THE TIMES

'’Sexual perversion, spiritual bankruptcy, violence, madness, nihilism – that's what Bowles writes about… it is the way he uses intricate frameworks of language to contain and control a vision of near-total horror that makes him an original and important writer.’'
GUARDIAN

'’Remarkably gifted – Bowles relates his story in prose of such acuity that it is believable and chilling. This classic demands to be read.'’
GUARDIAN

‘'His work is art. At his best, Bowles has no peer.’’
TIME MAGAZINE

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the great novels of the post-war era. 18 May 1999
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Port Moresby (probably the only fictional character to be named after a city in Papua New Guinea) and his wife Kit head off on a journey across North Africa in search of...actually they haven't a clue what they're looking for. All they find is heat, desert and a growing realisation that their marriage is collapsing within an environment that they are increasingly unable to cope with. Matters are complicated by the presence of Kit's clandestine lover and a boorish English mother and son combination who do little but encroach upon the Moresby's aimless quest. Nothing goes according to plan and as Port's health deteriorates, Kit finds that her terrible omens are about to be fulfilled.

This extraordinary novel envelops the reader with shimmering images and deft characterisation. Amongst all this, there is a message about the hollowness of the American post-war experience. The protagonists feel compelled to explore alien territory but their search for discovery is engulfed by the vastness of the desert. The way the plot unfolds is totally unexpected but conventional narrative wouldn't make sense here. North Africa is different and in this book Bowles lucidly demonstrates why this is the case.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Scorching 28 July 2009
By reader 451 TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Kit and her husband Port Moresby (sic) have turned their backs on the futility of an idle New York life to embark on a journey without an end in North Africa, still French-owned at the time this is set. The couple is troubled, and finding an aim amid the sandy waste is also expected to solve their sexual problems. But what can be expected from a journey to nowhere, except that it should lead into the void?

Paul Bowles's The Sheltering Sky differs in all respects from the movie. Bowles's Sahara isn't that of Bertolucci's technicolor photo; it is cruel, unforgiving, dirty; it is full of flies, of petty colonial officials and impenetrable locals, a stark and treacherous place. Port and Kit aren't a romantic and courageous couple, at least not initially, more a spoilt pair, self-centred, sometimes mean. Kit only comes into her own later, and Port never does, though the typhoid scene is beautifully written (the same in the movie must be Malkovich's worst piece of acting).

Indeed, that's just the thing: Bowles's novel is convincing; it feels real. At the same time, this is a philosophical as well as a psychological piece. Two characters search for meaning in a vast, bleak, empty landscape where they can only hope to get lost; life's quest must end in death, and all meaning can only be incidental, such as the devotion to Port Kit rediscovers in herself when it is too late. The strength of The Sheltering Sky is that it does not lecture, however; it is never blatant or pompous. Only the ending is dubious; here the philosophical point takes over, perhaps, at the expense of psychological likelihood. Bowles himself is supposed to have declared later, in an interview, that it was `idiotic'. More equivoque and provocation? You will have to judge for yourself.
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18 of 21 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars 'Heart of Darkness' for the twentieth century 28 Dec 2004
By Depressaholic
Format:Paperback
'TSS' by Paul Bowles is the story of Kit and Port Moresby, who are travelling around North Africa in the years preceding World War II, accompanied by their friend Tunner. Kit and Port are married but estranged, a couple who are as close to perfection for the other as their personalities allow, but who share a love of isolation and secrecy that means that there will always be a chasm between them. Tunner is a fly in the ointment, a sexual rival for Port, an irritant for Kit. On their travels they stay in increasingly hellish places, each more alien than the last, and encounter the nightmarish inhabitants, both European and African, of that remote landscape.
This book has been described as 'African Gothic', and this seems as good a label as any. A dark, brooding atmosphere persists throughout, although there is no horror in the traditional sense. Port and Kit are travelling through their own personal heart of darkness, weighed down by the metaphorical baggage the carry with them, and by each other. They attempt to escape this ever-decreasing circle by sexual liaisons that are both erotic and grotesque in equal measure, and by running as far from westerners and the western way of life as possible. However, their fear of the new, frightening, world they encounter, and their inability to rid themselves of the influences of their past lives lead them ever closer to their own personal hell.
'TSS' is brilliantly written, conjuring strong visual images of the world the Moresby's find themselves plunging into. The powerful writing style reminded me of Malcolm Lowry, and I recommend that fans of one try the other. Bowles' writing is less well structured, but just as successful at bringing the nightmare to life. It isn't an especially easy read, both because of Bowles' occasionally meandering prose and the grimness of the events being recounted. I was also a little bemused by the finale, which seemed to take Kit's African horror a little too far. Despite this, it was still an excellent book to have read, and one I can recommend to anyone interested in great writing.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Paul Bowles
A thinking book, I will read more. Need to sit for a couple of hours at a time to digest.
Published 1 month ago by pauline coxon
4.0 out of 5 stars "She had found patches of fur in her rabbit stew...after she had put...
In 1949, Porter and Kit Moresby learn that North Africa is one of the few places to which they can now obtain boat passage in the aftermath of World War II. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mary Whipple
5.0 out of 5 stars Far from Home
Possibly one of the darkest novels I have ever read and one of the most brilliant. Bowles introduces us to some world weary Fitzgeraldesque characters. Read more
Published 3 months ago by PenFriend
2.0 out of 5 stars Overrated
Don't believe all the reviewers who hyperventilate about this novel. It's dated, although that in itself isn't the problem. Read more
Published 4 months ago by J. M. Cooper
3.0 out of 5 stars Mr Bowles changes trains
The key lead characters are travellers not tourists as they travel, not tour, around North Africa. It is a very important distinction to appreciate, as this book aspires to a... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Officer Dibble
4.0 out of 5 stars Can't you see the sunshine? Can't you just feel the moonshine?
This is a book that is set in the physical landscape of North Africa but actually occurs within the minds of the main characters - three self-obsessed Americans on a journey to... Read more
Published 9 months ago by John Fitzpatrick
3.0 out of 5 stars Intense but disappointing
An intense and thoughtful novel with occasional flashes of brilliance, but I was expecting more from this "classic". The characters proved hard people to care about. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Simon Bendle
3.0 out of 5 stars music of the sands
Paul Bowles was originally a composer and his ear for the cadence and rhythms of language is evident in this, the best known of his four novels. Read more
Published on 22 Oct 2009 by Catherine Murphy
2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
I had high hopes for this book but found the characters two-dimensional and lacking in any attributes that resembled genuine human emotions. Read more
Published on 15 Oct 2009 by B. WARD
5.0 out of 5 stars The Last Third
This very original and dynamically written novel should be read for its final third.

Starting (and continuing) as a rather pedestrian travelogue, it eventually... Read more
Published on 22 Oct 2008 by Edward Barry
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