The haunting beauty of Paul Bowles

Welcome to this week’s Tuesday Book Club! Our chosen book is Paul Bowles’s The Sheltering Sky, a novel that delves into the vastness of the human spirit and the desolation of existential dread. Set against the striking and unforgiving backdrop of the North African desert, this literary masterpiece is a journey into the unknown—both external and internal.

Why The Sheltering Sky?

Published in 1949, The Sheltering Sky follows an American couple, Port and Kit Moresby, as they travel through North Africa in an attempt to revitalise their strained relationship and escape the mundanity of post-war Western society. Accompanied by their friend Tunner, their journey gradually dissolves into chaos, isolation, and ultimately, a profound encounter with the alien and infinite.

Bowles’s prose is hypnotic, capturing the stark beauty of the desert while also delving into the depths of human psychology. It’s a novel that explores themes of identity, culture and the fragility of civilisation, leaving readers mesmerised and unsettled in equal measure.

A meditation on the human condition

At its core, The Sheltering Sky is a meditation on existential loneliness and the human desire for connection in an indifferent universe. The desert, vast and empty, becomes a metaphor for the characters’ internal struggles and the inescapable truths they must face.

Bowles’s portrayal of the clash between Western ideals and the stark realities of North Africa also offers a thought-provoking commentary on cultural dislocation. It’s a book that challenges readers to consider the limits of their own understanding and the illusions we cling to for meaning.

Join the conversation

What stands out to you in The Sheltering Sky? Is it Bowles’s evocative descriptions, the complex relationships between the characters or the novel’s existential undertones?

Whether you’ve read it before or are experiencing it for the first time, we’d love to hear your thoughts. Share your impressions, favourite quotes, or questions using #TuesdayBookClub and #TheShelteringSky on on X (formerly Twitter) and Bluesky.