Thursday, February 23, 2006
Book Review: The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles
Writing Style-9.1
Originality-7.9
Plot-7.5
Merit(whatever that means)-7.6
Overall-7.8
This book was really close to reaching rarefied air. The first two-thirds of it I was completely captivated. The writing is incredibly beautiful, very Hemingwayesque. In fact the whole story reminded me of Hemingway.
I started noticing this book showing up on several of these Top 100 lists and I hadn’t heard of it so I became curious. And I can totally understand it’s inclusion on these lists.
The gist of the book is that there is this trio of Americans who are vacationing in North Africa not long after World War II. They are a husband and wife and their male friend who wanted to tag along.
The plot is leisurely paced, but the caliber of the writing keeps you moving through the book at a brisk clip.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t crazy about the ending. I dug the message, but just not the way the story played out. For instance, there is one scene in which a woman falls in love with her rapist. That just didn’t sit right with me and I couldn’t let it go regardless of how good the rest of the book was.
I also would have liked it better if the book ended a little bit more softly, quietly, gently—as the rest of the book seemed to flow. I thought it was a neat juxtaposition of bad things happening over and over to this trio of travelers, but the writing style and voice was so relaxed about it. I thought it went well with the existential bent of the novel. But then, the ending turns into this whirlwind climax. I thought it could have been more powerful if it didn’t seem like it was trying so hard to form a powerful climax. Make sense?
The central theme, that I took from it at least, was the world’s complete indifference to us and our wishes and plans. Sort of similar to Lord Jim, which I just read. There’s no running or hiding from your problems and there’s no use in planning or thinking you can undo what you got coming to you. It’s a theme that I’m particularly into right now. And the North African/Sahara environment in this book is great for it as was Patusan in Lord Jim. Plus, the author documents this environment beautifully.
I highly recommend this book, especially if you are a fan of Hemingway’s style.
Originality-7.9
Plot-7.5
Merit(whatever that means)-7.6
Overall-7.8
This book was really close to reaching rarefied air. The first two-thirds of it I was completely captivated. The writing is incredibly beautiful, very Hemingwayesque. In fact the whole story reminded me of Hemingway.
I started noticing this book showing up on several of these Top 100 lists and I hadn’t heard of it so I became curious. And I can totally understand it’s inclusion on these lists.
The gist of the book is that there is this trio of Americans who are vacationing in North Africa not long after World War II. They are a husband and wife and their male friend who wanted to tag along.
The plot is leisurely paced, but the caliber of the writing keeps you moving through the book at a brisk clip.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t crazy about the ending. I dug the message, but just not the way the story played out. For instance, there is one scene in which a woman falls in love with her rapist. That just didn’t sit right with me and I couldn’t let it go regardless of how good the rest of the book was.
I also would have liked it better if the book ended a little bit more softly, quietly, gently—as the rest of the book seemed to flow. I thought it was a neat juxtaposition of bad things happening over and over to this trio of travelers, but the writing style and voice was so relaxed about it. I thought it went well with the existential bent of the novel. But then, the ending turns into this whirlwind climax. I thought it could have been more powerful if it didn’t seem like it was trying so hard to form a powerful climax. Make sense?
The central theme, that I took from it at least, was the world’s complete indifference to us and our wishes and plans. Sort of similar to Lord Jim, which I just read. There’s no running or hiding from your problems and there’s no use in planning or thinking you can undo what you got coming to you. It’s a theme that I’m particularly into right now. And the North African/Sahara environment in this book is great for it as was Patusan in Lord Jim. Plus, the author documents this environment beautifully.
I highly recommend this book, especially if you are a fan of Hemingway’s style.
