BOWLES, Paul

The Sheltering Sky

First edition. Small, neat, and contemporary owner name on the front fly, some damp spots, mostly on the front board, a near very good copy in a very good plus, first issue dustwrapper with a corresponding, but nearly invisible dampstain on the front panel, some slight tanning, and a couple of faint splashmarks to the white blocks on the spine. Inscribed by Bowles on the title page to his biographer Virginia Spencer Carr: "for Virginia with love, Paul. Atlanta 30/4/94." In 1994 Bowles made his first trip to the U.S. in over twenty years at Carr's insistence, in order to have medical tests. He stayed with Carr for three months and eventually life-prolonging surgery at Emory University. Carr visited Bowles in Tangiers over a dozen times in the creation of her biography, which she wrote with the full cooperation of Bowles. Signed copies of this novel, his most desirable title, are very uncommon, copies with significant associations are rare. The author's first and best known book, in which a disaffected American couple meets the harsh reality of the Moroccan desert, with less than happy results. Filmed by Bernardo Bertolucci with Debra Winger, John Malkovich, and the author in a small role.

[BTC #66564]