[JSW]∎ Download Gratis Sheltering Sky Penguin Red Classics Paul Bowles 9780141023427 Books

Sheltering Sky Penguin Red Classics Paul Bowles 9780141023427 Books

Download As PDF : Sheltering Sky Penguin Red Classics Paul Bowles 9780141023427 Books

Sheltering Sky Penguin Red Classics Paul Bowles 9780141023427 Books

I have no difficulty declaring that I sometimes think The Sheltering Sky is the best book I've ever read, and it was one I didn't see coming. I don't even remember why I bought it, or why I started reading it, and in truth, I read it (the first time) very slowly for the first 100 pages or so before I caught on to what it was saying. You can read other reviews on here that focus more on the plot, and they're true enough - this does tell the story of three Americans, who may be sort of "shallow" (as many reviews describe them, although perhaps a better word is "naive"... although "shallow" isn't wrong) wandering through the edges of the horn of Africa after the end of WWII. There is too much emphasis on sorting out the "what," however - the plot details are important but they're just the beginning. What are Port and Kat, the central characters, looking for? Why are they traveling? The characters themselves might not be able to really tell you, except that when they more or less wish to shed their bourgeois American values, the Sheltering Sky becomes the greatest story ever written about being careful what you wish for. Some reviewers on here have also focused on the similarity of the book to many of Bowles' short stories, and thematically it's true - his short stories condense the book's theme neatly (one story, "Tampiana," probably described it best: "What is freedom in the last analysis, other than the state of being totally, instead of partially, subject to the tyranny of chance?"). But The Sheltering Sky's dark, wounding secret is that the events themselves are just the pretext for a journey into the depth of self and the darkness of the human condition, even from two characters accurately described as "shallow." It's written with the simplicity of of a Hemingway novel merged with the dark poetry of William S. Burroughs (who himself became an acolyte of the novel), and manages to become a kind of exorcism of the madness within. I hesitate to go more into depth about that idea, as discovering and ruminating over the power of the novel was the best part of my experience in reading it - like the greatest novels, it altered my consciousness, and I've spent the years since reading it the first time dying to have others to talk to about it. Rereading the novel has never dulled its power, and if anything it reveals the simple poetry of the prose itself. But the power of, I think, Bowles' ideas as a writer and thinker are never better expressed than The Sheltering Sky, a book that once you've given yourself over to it manages to sear in your consciousness and change how you think.


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Sheltering Sky Penguin Red Classics Paul Bowles 9780141023427 Books Reviews

This book reminded me of something Hemingway would write. Parts were slow and I wanted more to happen. The characters were so foreign to my way of life, it was hard for me to fathom why they would spend so much money and get so little pleasure out of their travels. I kept thinking, "Don't they have anything better to do with their lives?"
Not all readers will enjoy this strange book the way I did. For me, this was one of those novels that developed into something darkly, morbidly fascinating, and at times made me feel almost voyeuristic. I call this book “strange” because despite my own glowing opinion, the novel lacks any identifiable plot in the traditional sense. Also, for most readers, the main characters are not likeable and will not evoke any sympathy, and take actions and make decisions that are often difficult to understand.

Because the story is set in Algeria, some have suggested a comparison to Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness”, probably because both take place in Africa and have the characters progressing to places of increasing primitiveness as the story unfolds. Superficially that may be true, but I feel that comparison inapt because the writing style and mood is completely different. It most reminded me of Cormac McCarthy’s “Blood Meridian,” another of my favorites. Anyone drawn to that kind of writing is likely to find this worthwhile as well. Conversely, readers that like a set piece plot and at least one character they can root for may want to look elsewhere.

The story is set in Algeria in the years just after WWII. Three Americans are traveling rather haphazardly and spontaneously from the coast to those inland parts of the country seldom frequented by tourists. (Indeed, this is one of Port’s stated goals—he wants to see the parts of it that are uncontaminated by tourism or ruined by the war.) Port and Kit are presumably married but have a strange relationship; they are accompanied by Tunner as their tag-along friend. As travelers, these people take a lot (too much) for granted. Although some of Port’s actions can be ascribed to a mere desire for novelty, perhaps adventure, and something else more elusive. He and (later) Kit act in completely inexplicable ways—it is almost as though they knew what they should do, and then deliberately set out to do just the opposite for the sole purpose of provoking Fate into providing them with an unexpected chain of events.

The novel starts out rather slowly, and impatient readers may not stay with it long enough to get immersed in the mood of the narrative. I found the early part of the story almost languid, but by the time I had made it about halfway, I could not put it down.
I have no difficulty declaring that I sometimes think The Sheltering Sky is the best book I've ever read, and it was one I didn't see coming. I don't even remember why I bought it, or why I started reading it, and in truth, I read it (the first time) very slowly for the first 100 pages or so before I caught on to what it was saying. You can read other reviews on here that focus more on the plot, and they're true enough - this does tell the story of three Americans, who may be sort of "shallow" (as many reviews describe them, although perhaps a better word is "naive"... although "shallow" isn't wrong) wandering through the edges of the horn of Africa after the end of WWII. There is too much emphasis on sorting out the "what," however - the plot details are important but they're just the beginning. What are Port and Kat, the central characters, looking for? Why are they traveling? The characters themselves might not be able to really tell you, except that when they more or less wish to shed their bourgeois American values, the Sheltering Sky becomes the greatest story ever written about being careful what you wish for. Some reviewers on here have also focused on the similarity of the book to many of Bowles' short stories, and thematically it's true - his short stories condense the book's theme neatly (one story, "Tampiana," probably described it best "What is freedom in the last analysis, other than the state of being totally, instead of partially, subject to the tyranny of chance?"). But The Sheltering Sky's dark, wounding secret is that the events themselves are just the pretext for a journey into the depth of self and the darkness of the human condition, even from two characters accurately described as "shallow." It's written with the simplicity of of a Hemingway novel merged with the dark poetry of William S. Burroughs (who himself became an acolyte of the novel), and manages to become a kind of exorcism of the madness within. I hesitate to go more into depth about that idea, as discovering and ruminating over the power of the novel was the best part of my experience in reading it - like the greatest novels, it altered my consciousness, and I've spent the years since reading it the first time dying to have others to talk to about it. Rereading the novel has never dulled its power, and if anything it reveals the simple poetry of the prose itself. But the power of, I think, Bowles' ideas as a writer and thinker are never better expressed than The Sheltering Sky, a book that once you've given yourself over to it manages to sear in your consciousness and change how you think.