The Stories of Paul Bowles

The aching nostalgia for her own youth remained—the bright Andalusian days when each hour was filled to bursting with the promise of magic, when her life lay ahead of her, inexhaustible, as yet untouched.

The Stories of Paul Bowels is a collection of his short stories. If you've read The Sheltering Sky, you're familiar with the tone and settings that Bowels is renowned for.

And in these aspects, Bowels does deliver. Nearly every story is tense - not so much in the action, but in the subtleties. The prose hints that something bad is going on here, yet the words never quite provide the closure that your mind desires. The unfamiliar and brutal setting of Africa (at least for us Westerners) intensifies the suspense and the unknown.

A few stories stood out to me. Allal, the tale of a snake charmer, takes some strange twists and showcases Boweles's skill in shifting perspectives. Frozen is a subtle story of child abuse that will strike a chord with those who understand the experience of living in such circumstances. Pages From Cold Point is a strange father and son story that delves into issues of parenting, homosexuality, and incest.

However, the hit ratio in this collection is low. Most, despite being rich in Boweles's striking prose, felt like repetitions of the same theme and setting, without exploring any major original ideas. After reading the stories of Ted Chiang, I found most of this collection to be a bit of a letdown. I could sense that the story was hidden within the details, but they didn't seem to be worth uncovering from the monotony.

It is always an absolute pleasure to take the time to revisit this remarkable body of work. Each time I do, I discover new details, new nuances that I may have overlooked before. It's like opening a treasure chest and finding something precious hidden within. The creativity and skill that went into creating this work are truly awe-inspiring. Whether it's the beautiful prose, the vivid imagery, or the engaging storylines, every aspect of it is a masterpiece. Revisiting this body of work allows me to relive the emotions and experiences that it evoked in me the first time around, and it also gives me a new perspective and a deeper appreciation for the artistry involved. I look forward to many more opportunities to explore and enjoy this wonderful collection of work.

The group returned to its village with only 290 pages.

It is the first part of Paul Bowles' stories that appeared under the title "The Scorpion and Other Stories, Part One".

And there is a second part.

But I didn't find the page for it on this website, so I used this page to know what I had read and where I had reached.

It is an excellent collection by the American writer who lived a long time in Tangier, Morocco, and we can sense his influence from his life in the Arab world. Like an old event, it is presented precisely and clearly in his stories such as "The Quick and the Dead" and pages from "The Frozen Point" and in "Paso Doble", he was influenced by the Red Indian culture and their traditions. But the story "The Circular Valley" is the one where he was most influenced by their culture in terms of the reincarnation of souls, life, and nature.

This collection encompasses all the wicked classics. There's the shocking one such as "The Delicate Prey", which perhaps upon rereading now isn't nearly as good as "At Paso Rojo". "The Circular Valley" is yet another favorite.

Paul Bowles is an intriguing writer, and his novel "Let It Come Down" is a wonder of prose. However, the nastiness present in his stories and books isn't precisely something that you, or at least me, always desire to have around. Something like "A Distant Episode" is almost like a comedy penned by a malicious child. It's truly a horror tale, but as a clash-of-cultures narrative, it's so hysterically overdone that I can't give Bowles full credit for it. I think Bowles would never have been satisfied with just writing a horror story.

I haven't revisited Bowles' works in many years, so it's possible that my memories aren't doing him justice. Maybe upon a fresh reading, I would discover new aspects and appreciate his writing in a different light. There could be hidden depths and subtleties that I missed before. It's always interesting to go back and explore the works of an author with a new perspective.

I came to this collection in a rather circuitous way, much like my recent encounter with reading The Sheltering Sky. For years, I had received occasional recommendations and had rare moments of picking up a book by Paul or Jane Bowles, reading a passage, and then putting it back.

A couple of years ago, I arrived in San Francisco and often stayed on the floor of my friend's closet. Coincidentally, this closet held no clothing but a section of his library. We had our own enthusiasms and differences in literary taste. I found it难以置信 that someone could recommend Clancy or Franzen in the same breath as Bataille or Berryman. I remained skeptical during some of our 4 AM discussions in the closet over Charles Shaw, Rockport, or Dante wine.

One night, in a moment of clarity that comes when a remarkably confident person is caught off guard, I took The Sheltering Sky off the shelf. I had only known of Bowles from my extensive study of the Beat Generation in my teens, a period I had long since distanced myself from by that summer. By then, I considered the Beats, especially after the traumatizing adolescent chagrin of arriving at City Lights to find Ginsberg bumper stickers on display and the fedora-clad cashier not knowing who Herbert Huncke was, as one of my passageways to adventure and intellectual stimulation when I had not traveled and lived in the middle of nowhere.

I recall my friend saying he didn't know what to say about The Sheltering Sky, a fine nocturnal way of admitting to not having finished it, but that he preferred the short stories.

Well, I am still avidly avoiding people like Johnathan Franzen. But the other day, when I was out buying presents at the used bookstore and saw the exact edition of The Sheltering Sky, I had to take another peek. The Kafka quote sold me, to the effect of: 'There comes a point where there is no turning back; that is the point to be reached.'

The short stories were next to the novel. I had to laugh, skim through, and then purchase both.

My old friend from the closet was right: The stories are really good. They evoke the scent and setting of writing by pencil in a hut, smoking hash and drinking extremely powerful tea, sifting through the breeze-enhanced lucidity of dreams within nightmares, nightmares composed of self-induced, albeit subtle, disaster, yet not always without hope. Hence, the perpetual return trip; a kaleidoscopic whirlpool of the mind, harmoniously balanced by linguistic and structural mastery.

The stories read like dual first-hand reports: The stranger in a strange land, possessing a camera-eye, intact with x-ray vision into the veins and minds of mankind, the human condition, as seen through an American transported to Morocco.

The Bowlesian subtlety, the shadowy style, each syllable perfectly placed, each analogy not spot on, little repetition; this collection is a quiet gem for me. I mean that in the sense of not quite rushing out and recommending the shorter fiction to everyone. Kind of like the short work of Tennessee Williams. Little spoken of, but when acknowledged, met with bewildering acclaim, little gems in the cannon of the English language.

Well then, why not share!?

To quote the friend who introduced me to this book, when, naively, I asked him why the media portrayed San Franciscans as homosexual, drug addicted, both, or insane (The futile implication there an obvious propaganda tool, thus one that confused me as a youngster, that the citizens of that great city did not care). Oh, it's easy, he said. We don't care because it keeps all the idiots out of the city.

And while the term idiot applies zero in my case, the work of Paul Bowles is, for me, another, private world, one which I will re-read over the years, recommend once or twice, and return to, preferably over cheap California wine, in a closet, past midnight, when I temporarily lose faith in the art of literature, only to return from the work the way a relighted fuse burns faster, and onto business, that of alphabetical delirium.

*There is nothing wrong with fedoras, save they're like not be worn between the ages of 30 and 70, or so I am told.

I am all about under-read brilliant authors this year, apparently. And let me tell you, GUYS. PAUL BOWLES. Wow. It is truly a shame and a grave injustice that he isn't on every list of essential American authors. This collection of stories is thick, dazzling, and astonishing. It delves deep into human nature, especially its darker and weirder representatives. Many of the stories are set in Morocco, where Bowles lived for most of his adult life. And almost every story features a compelling character who is brought to life by Bowles's vivid and perfect prose. I loved The Sheltering Sky, his unsettling and gorgeous novel. But if it's possible, I loved this collection of stories even more. I'm stumbling for the right words to tell you just how magnificent Paul Bowles is. You have to read him. You really, really have to. His work is a literary treasure that should not be missed.

What strikes me most about Bowles' short stories is his remarkable ability to assume so many diverse perspectives.

Most of the stories, though not all, are written in the third person, yet not omniscient. Instead, only the thoughts of the main character are presented.

My favorite story in the collection is "The Circular Valley" (1950). It is an outstanding tale about a spirit, known and feared by the natives, that inhabits a specific place and different creatures. It comes to know the people who inhabit the area, starting with monks, then bandits, soldiers, and finally a couple of lovers. In this story, the spirit enters a woman for the first time.

Many of the stories are set in Morocco, which is what inspired me to read the collection after reading "The Spider's House". Only someone who has lived in Morocco for a while can truly understand some of these stories, like "He of the Assembly" set in Marrakesh. It is filled with expressions, places, and references that are familiar only to those who know the place well.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the reading, there seems to be a pervasive sense of cynicism towards humanity in general, and many of the stories are undeniably negative.

This aspect, however, does not overshadow the overall quality and depth of Bowles' work. His unique storytelling and vivid descriptions make these short stories a captivating read.

One of my all-time favorite books is truly a masterpiece.

Many of the stories within its pages are not just ordinary tales; they are pure atmosphere personified.

The atmosphere is so incredibly thick that it's as if you could physically climb into the book and freely move around within it.

You can vividly feel the slow and steady creeping of time, as if it were a tangible force.

Moreover, the richness of the air is palpable, almost as if you can smell and taste it.

Each story seems to transport you to a different world, filled with unique emotions and sensations.

It's a book that allows you to fully immerse yourself in its captivating atmosphere and lose track of the real world around you.

Whether you're reading it for the first time or the tenth, it never fails to leave a lasting impression and draw you in with its enchanting charm.