Monday night I was feeling particularly run-down, and decided to treat myself to a little R&R: the last few chapters of The Sheltering Sky and a makeshift hot toddy. I've been mulling over the book since then, so without further delay, here's my impromptu review.
Generally, when I hear something--anything--takes place in the desert, I'm immediately turned off (not sorry to report that this applies to the second Sex and the City movie). That being said, there was something so surreally and harshly beautiful about the setting of The Sheltering Sky. The narrative moves fluidly across Northern Africa, charting a married American couple, Kit and Port, as they attempt to find one another again--maybe even for the first time. The Sheltering Sky is a sweeping, modern epic in which Paul Bowles tackles post-colonialism, emotional intimacy, infidelity, and philosophical inquiry. It is both languid and urgent, and contains some of the most vivid landscapes I've ever encountered in a novel.
The book is vastly superior to the film trailer below, which is obscenely, hilariously cheesy. Might I also add, the line about "a woman's dangerous and erotic journey" had me thinking about Seinfeld (Rochelle, Rochelle: "a young girl's erotic journey from Milan to Minsk"). Enjoy the trailer, check out our reading schedule, and be sure to try The Sheltering Sky--it definitely deserves a read. Tune in next month for our reviews of another American classic, the timeless To Kill a Mockingbird.
once i actually read this we should have a movie night.
Posted by: erica | June 09, 2010 at 04:24 PM
Deal!
Posted by: Kayleigh George | June 09, 2010 at 04:31 PM
i'm about halfway through and though i'm enjoying it, i'm not gripped like i had hoped i would be. the setting and writing is phenomenal, but the characters get a bit whiny and i have to walk away and take a breather to stop being so annoyed with them...
i'll come back once i'm done with my official take on the book, but so far i'm half loving it, half irritated with it.
Posted by: lisa (the little reader) | June 14, 2010 at 02:27 AM
Lisa, I agree-Port and Kit definitely have a healthy sense of narcissism going. One thing I found myself asking after a certain point was "How many times are they going to ditch Tunner?" I felt so terrible for him.
Posted by: Kayleigh George | June 15, 2010 at 11:21 AM
I’m just trying to clarify slot size calculations and how to roll it up to figuring out the number of requires servers in an HA cluster.
Posted by: cheap jerseys | June 25, 2011 at 03:57 AM
Lisa, I agree-Port and Kit definitely have a healthy sense of narcissism going. One thing I found myself asking after a certain point was "How many times are they going to ditch Tunner?" I felt so terrible for him.
Posted by: lacoste observe | August 17, 2011 at 05:08 AM