When The Sheltering Sky was first published in 1949, it established Paul Bowles as one of the most singular and promising writers of the postwar generation. Its startlingly original vision has withstood the test of time and confirmed Tennessee Williams's early estimation: "The Sheltering Sky alone of the books that I have . . . read by American authors appears to bear the spiritual imprint of recent history in the western world." In this classic work of psychological terror, Bowles examines the ways in which Americans apprehend an alien culture and the ways in which their incomprehension destroys them.</P>

The story of three worldly young travelers Port Moresby, his wife, Kit, and their friend, Tunner--adrift in the cities and deserts of North Africa after World War II, The Sheltering Sky is merciless in its evocation of the emotional dislocation induced by a foreign setting. As the Americans embark on an ill-fated journey through desolate terrain, they are pushed to the limits of human reason and intelligence by the unfathomable emptiness and impassive cruelty of the desert. Along the way, they encounter a host of enigmatic characters whose inarticulate strangeness seals the travelers off even more completely from the culture in which they are traveling, causing their fierce attachments to one another to unravel.</P>

This special fiftieth anniversary commemorative edition of Bowles's unforgettable first novel includes the original New York Times review by Tennessee Williams and a preface the author wrote for his first novel before he died in 1999.</P>

保羅•鮑爾斯（Paul Bowles，1910—1999）

美國傳奇作傢、翻譯傢、作麯傢。一生隻創作過四部長篇小說，卻被視為20世紀美國極具代錶性的作傢，《時代周刊》稱他是那個年代獨一無二的作傢。2002年，其作品由美國著名非營利性齣版機構美國文庫收錄齣版，成為傳世經典。

◆鮑爾斯深受存在主義文學影響，曾翻譯過薩特、博爾赫斯等作傢的作品，美國評論界稱：“沒有哪位作傢能像鮑爾斯那樣對存在主義哲學作齣這樣全麵的闡釋。”

◆鮑爾斯與艾倫•金斯堡、威廉•巴勒斯等垮掉的一代作傢相交甚篤，評論界也將他視為垮掉的一代，但他本人卻否認。

◆1929年，鮑爾斯輟學前往巴黎學習音樂創作，隨後為田納西‧威廉斯、奧森‧威爾斯等著名劇作傢、導演作麯，迅速成為美國當代著名作麯傢之一。

◆1947年，鮑爾斯移居摩洛哥丹吉爾，並在此居住瞭52年，一直到去世。丹吉爾也因為鮑爾斯，吸引眾多藝術傢前往，成為文學聖地。

◆《遮蔽的天空》是鮑爾斯的長篇小說處女作，齣版後即連續10周登上《紐約時報》暢銷榜，在美國平裝版首印就多達20萬冊，兩個月內加印三次。

◆1990年，《遮蔽的天空》由貝托魯奇改編成同名電影，獲金球奬、英國電影學院奬等多項大奬。鮑爾斯本人亦有齣色演齣。

◆2017年，阪本龍一因為太愛這本書，甚至將鮑爾斯在電影中朗讀書中精彩段落的原聲編進瞭自己新專輯中的一首歌麯《Fullmoon》。