The Sheltering Sky (1949)

Well, I'm not quite sure what to say about this one. Bowles certainly had an eye for detail and a knack for atmospheric writing: he puts the reader right in the center of North Africa, from the smoke-filled cafes to the dry stretches of the Sahara to the gritty streets. New Yorkers Port and Kit Moresby (joined at times by another American, Tunner) travel through various cities and landscapes of North Africa in 1949, trying, in part, to sort out their troubled marriage. But infidelity and/or suspicion get the better of both of them, and the two travel on separate paths, at least until a crisis briefly reunites them.

I was quite enjoying the novel, depsite its darkness and deeply nihilistic theme, when WHAM! All of a sudden I found myself in the middle of 'The Sheik' with Rudolph Valentino. I sat scratching my head for awhile, wondering what the heck just happened and how the novel had taken this weird turn. I still don't get it. At that point, I plodded through to the end, greatly disappointed (when I wasn't shaking my head or snorting).

I can't recommend this one. So much emotional investment building up to an unbelievable ending that was totally out of sync with the rest of the novel.

If I read anything else by Bowles, it will be because of his style--not his nearly-nonexistent agility with plot or character. ( )

Unrelenting nihilist perspective. Part of the way through this book, I thought "I should spend my precious moments reading things that appeal to me, instead of forcing myself to finish, no matter what." In the future, I will strive to recall this book and these thoughts and act accordingly... ( )

Oh I finished this one about three weeks ago but geez where does the time go? Well, I guess I think that the main crux of the book lies within it's overall storytelling and I thought the imagery of North Africa was sometimes striking but Bowles's attempts at character development fell flat with me. Even worse, I hated all of the main characters so when trouble befell them, I couldn't care less. I was hoping they'd all get eaten by a lion halfway through the book and Bowles would find some more decent subjects to write about. Well, that's probably a bit harsh. Suffice it to say if you are just wondering how three Americans would do in North Africa, you might like this book. For me, not so much... ( )

The Sheltering Sky is big, beautiful, complicated and intensely atmospheric - but, to my mind, it's somewhat lacking in some of the basic elements I've come to expect from a well-told, well-crafted novel.

For my complete review, come and visit my blog, Book to the Future - probably the only blog on the internet devoted to reading, tea and time travel...

http://booktothefuture.com.au/?p=2135 ( )

The characters are extremely unsympathetic, but I suppose that is part of the point. The real star here is Morocco and the desert. ( )