The Sheltering Sky

The Sheltering Sky
by Paul Bowles
read: 2013
Time 100 Novels, Modern Library #97, Guardian 1000 Novels

There are books I go into with knowledge and expectations, and books when I have no idea what they're about. The Sheltering Sky is one of the latter, and even after reading it I'm not quite sure what to make of the novel. Is it a cautionary tale about the dangers of Westerners (Americans Port and Kit Moseby and their friend Tunner) exploring a world they don't understand (the Sahara)? Is it the story of the Mosebys trying to repair their marriage? There are so many themes here - mortality, fidelity, depression, exploration, civilization - that it's really hard to put this novel in a neat box.

Kit's journey over the last quarter or so of the book is particularly interesting and enigmatic. Is it a sign of what a human being is capable of under stress? A dark reaction to tragedy? A meditation on the role of women in society? Is it damning or appreciative of the North African world? What do her various romantic entanglements suggest when seen through a feminist lens? How do her actions relate to the omens she perceives in her depressive states earlier in the book?

One interesting aspect of Kit's story arc is the role of language in forming consciousness, as epitomized by the following passage:

In another minute life would be painful. The words were coming back, and inside the wrappings of the words there would be thoughts lying there. The hot sun would shrivel them; they must be kept inside in the dark.

Kit has found herself in a reality she is not willing to face, and by latching on with a nomadic group she does not have to face it. She falls in love (or thinks she does) with Belqassim despite being unable to communicate with him; maybe it's because she cannot communicate with him. She can turn off the language center in her brain, and by doing so avoid thinking about the tragedy that has befallen her and the desperation of her situation. Can a person really turn off her brain by eliminating words and language? I don't know, but it's a fascinating section of the novel.