Paul Frederic Bowles Orden de los libros (cronológico)

Kit y Port, un matrimonio norteamericano, se adentran en las profundidades de África huyendo de los efectos que la Segunda Guerra Mundial ha provocado en el mundo occidental y civilizado. Durante el viaje, que realizan junto a un amigo llamdo Tunner, descubrirán todo un universo desconocido en el árido paisaje del Sáhara que irá hundiéndolos en el infierno de sus propias vidas. A medio camino entre la novela de viajes y el relato autobiográfico, esta obra fue llevada al cine por Bernardo Bertolucci, en una película protagonizada por Debra Winger y John Malkovich.

Fez, 1954, and American ex-pat Stenham reluctantly accepts a guide for his night-time walk home through the streets of the Medina. A nationalist uprising is transforming the country, much to the annoyance of Stenham, who enjoys the trappings of the old city. His path soon crosses with the young, illiterate son of a healer, another outsider to the newly politicised life of Morocco, in this brutally honest novel of life in the midst of terrorism, violence and the ugly opportunism that accompanies both. Bowles's most masterly novel combines his classic themes: the conflict of Eastern and Western cultures and the trials of otherness.

In these hauntingly beautiful stories of abandonment and vengeance, extreme situations lead to disturbing conclusions. A missionary is sent to a place so distant he finds his God has no power there; a husband abandons his wife as they honeymoon in the South American jungle; a splash of water triggers an explosion of violence; and a boy's drug-induced transformation leads to cruelty enjoyed and suffered. Masterfully written, these are chilling tales from sun-drenched and brutal climes.