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0876855451
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The Spider's House

by Paul Bowles


ISBN: 0876855451
ISBN-13: 9780876855454
Format: Paperback

Summary

Paul Bowles's novel THE SPIDER'S HOUSE (1955), like so much of his work, is set in Morocco-this one in 1954, during the Moroccan struggle for independence. In exploring his perennial theme of the difficulty of understanding between cultures, Bowles has created a psychological thriller that takes us into the mind of both an American writer named John Stenham and an illiterate and impoverished 15-year-old Muslim terrorist, Amar, whose life is centered on Islam and who provides Bowles's nuanced and often surprising view of the "other." As the paths of these two, inevitably, cross in the troubled city of Fez, Bowles illuminates not only his subtly drawn characters but an important episode in Morocco's history. He also provides ever-relevant insights into the nature of terrorism. The title of the novel comes from the Koran: "The likeness of those who choose other patrons than Allah is as the likeness of the spider when she taketh unto herself a house, and lo! the frailest of all houses is the spider's house, if they but knew."

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Bibliographic Details

Publisher: Harpercollins
Published date: 1982
Size: 6 x 9 inches
Weight: 1.35 pounds

Publisher's Notes

The dilemma of the outsider in an alien society, and the gap in understanding between cultures, recurrent themes of Paul Bowles's writings, are dramatized with brutal honesty in this novel set in Fez, Morocco, during that country's 1954 nationalist uprising. Totally relevant to today's political situation in the Middle East and elsewhere, richly descriptive of its setting, and uncompromising in its characterizations, The Spider's House is perhaps Bowles's best, most beautifully subtle novel.

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1) The Spider's House
Bowles, Paul Frederic

Santa Rosa, California, U.S.A.: Black Sparrow Pr, 1982 Rubbing, light stains and small crease to covers, thumbed edges, interior tight and clean.. Paperback. Very Good. (more information)

Offered by Burke's Book Store (United States)
$6.00
2) SPIDER'S HOUSE
BOWLES, Paul

Black Sparrow, 1991. Trade paperback. Near Fine. Faint touches of cover soil, tiny errant ink mark on spine, no names or creases. Appears unread. ISBN: 0876855451 (more information)

Offered by Recollection Books (United States)
$7.95
3) Spider's House
Bowles, Paul

Santa Rosa, CA: Ecco, 2002. Lite pencil bracketing to just a few pp.. Interior otherwise clean. Lite edgewear to bright wraps. . Soft Cover. Very Good -. (more information)

Offered by Now, Voyager (United States)
$7.98
4) The Spider's House (Qty: 8)
Bowles, Paul

Santa Rosa: Black Sparrow Press, 1982. Paperback First edition thus Near Fine in Wraps Further description available upon request. (more information)

Offered by Wellington Square Bookshop (United States)
$12.00
5) The Spider's House
Bowles, Paul

Santa, Barbara, CA: Black Sparrow Press, 1982. With a preface by the author. Previous owner's name on ffep.. First Paperback Edition. Paperback. Very Good. (more information)

Offered by The Book Shelf (United States)
$12.50
6) Spider's House
Bowles, Paul

Santa Rosa, CA: Black Sparrow Press,U.S, 1997. Soft Cover. Used: Very Good. Original Wraps. Stated eighth print; crease to cover front top right corner, two tiniest tears top of spine; interior fine, unmarked, clean and tight; with Bowles preface written in 1981, b&w photo of author in back; fiction, 406 pages. (more information)

Offered by Taos Books (United States)
$12.75
7) The Spider's House
Bowles, Paul

Ecco. PAPERBACK. 0876855451 Edge and corner rubbing. Shelf wear. Inside nice and clean. . Fine. (more information)

Offered by windyacresfarm (United States)
$12.97
8) THE SPIDER'S HOUSE : With Preface By Author
Bowles, Paul

Santa Rosa, CA: Black Sparrow Press, 1982. Text/BRAND NEW. Illustrated soft cover/NF w/trace edge wear. A novel, first published 1955, set against daily life in Fez, Morroco, well familiar to native born New Yorker, prolific writer, composer, journalist and traveller1910 Paul Bowles (1910 - 1999). Fine copy.. Reprint. Soft Cover. Near Fine/None as Issued. (more information)

Offered by 100 POCKETS (United States)
$14.50
9) The Spider's House
Bowles, Paul

Black Sparrow Press, 1982. Large softcover, colorful wrapper, 406 pages. Very Fine copy.. Soft Cover. Very Fine. (more information)

Offered by Callaghan Books South (United States)
$30.00