PaulBowles:TheShelteringSky/LetItComeDown/TheSpider'sHouse

PaulBowleshadalreadyestablishedhimselfasanimportantcomposerwhenatage39hepublished"TheShelteringSky"andbecamerecognizedasoneofthemostpowerfulwritersofthepostwarperiod.FromhisbaseinTangierheproducedgloballyrangingnovels，stories，andtravelwritingsthatsetexquisitesurfacesoverviolentundercurrents.Hiselegantlysparenovelscharttheunpredictablecollisionsbetween"civilized"exilesandaMoroccotheynevergrasp，achievingeffectsofextremehorroranddislocation.ThisLibraryofAmericaBowlesset，thefirstannotatededition，offersthefullrangeofhisachievement：theportraitofanoutsiderwhowasoneoftheessentialAmericanwritersofthelastcentury.Inadditiontohisnovels-"TheShelteringSky"(1949)，"LetItComeDown"(1952)，"TheSpider'sHouse"(1955)，"UpAbovetheWorld"(1966)-andhiscollectedstories-includingsuchclassicsas"ADistantEpisode"and"PagesfromColdPoint"-theycontainhismasterpieceoftravelwriting，"TheirHeadsAreGreenandTheirHandsAreBlue"(1963).Throughout，BowlesshowshimselfamasterofgothicterrorandadiabolicallyfunnyobserverofmannersaswellasaprescientguidetoeverythingfromtherootsofIslamistpoliticstotheworldofMoghrebimusic.Withahallucinatoryclarityasdryandunforgivingasthedesertair，Bowlessendshischaracterstowardencounterswithunknownandterrifyingforcesbothoutsidethemandwithinthem.