The Sheltering Sky

Infobox Book |
name = The Sheltering Sky


image_caption = First edition cover
author = Paul Bowles
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
genre = Novel
publisher = John Lehmann
release_date = 1949
media_type = Print (Hardback & Paperback)
pages = 304 pp
isbn = NA

"The Sheltering Sky" is a 1949 novel by Paul Bowles. The story centers on Port and Kit Moresby, a married couple originally from New York who travel to the North African desert accompanied by their friend Tunner. The journey, initially an attempt by Port and Kit to resolve their marital difficulties, is quickly made fraught by the travelers' ignorance of the dangers that surround them.

"Time" magazine included the novel in its "TIME 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005". [ [http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/0,24459,the_sheltering_sky,00.html The Sheltering Sky - ALL-TIME 100 Novels - TIME ] ]

Film, TV or theatrical adaptations

The Sheltering Sky was adapted by Bernardo Bertolucci into a 1990 film by the same name starring Debra Winger and John Malkovich, with screenplay by Mark Peploe. In Bertolucci's interpretation, the bleak, sinister tone of the latter part of the book becomes a desert love story. The movie is filmed in Morocco, Algeria, and Niger and features powerful visual scenery.

Musical references

*Composer Richard Horowitz received a Golden Globe award ("Best Original Score - Motion Picture") and Los Angeles Film Critics Association award ("Best Music") for his soundtrack work on "The Sheltering Sky"
*The 1981 album "Discipline" by King Crimson includes an eight-minute instrumental composition titled "The Sheltering Sky."
*The 1983 album "Synchronicity" by the Police includes a song called "Tea in the Sahara", the lyrics of which contain the phrase "beneath the sheltering sky" and are based on the story of the three sisters and the prince as described in the first chapter of the book.
*The 1992 album "Beyond the Sky" by Omar Faruk Tekbilek was inspired by the film version of "The Sheltering Sky".
*The first song on Neurosis's album "Enemy of the Sun" opens with a sample from the film.
*The 1995 album "Thrak" by King Crimson includes the song "Walking on Air" which features these lyrics: "I'll be standing by your side in between the deep blue sea and the sheltering sky."

Trivia

*In an interview just prior to his death, actor Brandon Lee, best known for his portrayal of Eric Draven in the 1994 film "The Crow", quoted a passage from "The Sheltering Sky", which he had chosen for his wedding invitations; it is now inscribed on .

References

External links

* [http://www.paulbowles.org The Authorized Paul Bowles Web Site] .