The Stories of Paul Bowles
by Paul Bowles
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These 62 stories--called by Gore Vidal "among the best ever written by an American"--are set in many different parts of the globe, and are often about the culture clash between Westerners and the inhabitants of the places Bowles preferred to his native America, such as Tangiers, Mexico, and parts of Europe. Bowles is revered not only for his acknowledgement of the fascinations of what many consider degenerate or decadent, but for his poetic prose and precise use of language. Stories include the very early "By the Water," "A Distant Episode" (notorious for its particularly cruel and macabre plot), "Pastor Dowe at Tacate" (in which a missionary in South America realizes how completely he misunderstands his flock), "Pages from Cold Point" (with its themes of incest and homosexuality), and "Allal" (about a boy who is transformed into a deadly serpent). A New York Times Notable Book for 2001.
Editions of The Stories of Paul Bowles
 |
ISBN |
Binding/Format Paperback |
Publisher Harpercollins |
Date 2003 |
Price $4.25 |
 Near Fine |
 |
ISBN |
Binding/Format Paperback |
Publisher Harpercollins |
Date 2006 |
Price $11.82 |
NEW |
Media Reviews
"One of the attractions of a comprehensive collection like this is the map it lays down of the author's development: the long contours and big shapes of the Bowles career are visible as we work through the pages and the decade. Not, it has to be said, that much development is visible. There is a monolithic sameness about Bowles's designs, viewed in bulk. His narratives revolve around a handful of staple situations....Stylistically, Bowles gets the most out of a stripped-down, unemotive prose. Few major writers employ, to better effect, a thinner vocabulary."
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