"Nelson Dyar, an average bank clerk, was bored with the monotony of his life. So he quit his job, gambled his savings on a steamship ticket, and sailed for Tangier. There, overwhelmed by the sights, sounds and smells of exotic North Africa, he flirted with danger, drugs and sensual abandonment, fell in love with an Arab girl, and plunged headlong to his terrifying doom."--Back cover.

In Let It Come Down, Paul Bowles plots the doomed trajectory of Nelson Dyar, a New York bank teller who comes to Tangier in search of a different life and ends up giving in to his darkest impulses. Rich in descriptions of the corruption and decadence of the International Zone in the last days before Moroccan independence, Bowles's second novel is an alternately comic and horrific account of a descent into nihilism.

“So good, so fully realized. . . . A book about how easily our lives are wrecked, but also how powerfully we’re able to survive and rebuild.” —Nathan Hill, The New York Times Book Review A blistering dark comedy, Rafael Frumkin’s The Comedown is a romp across America, from the Kent State shootings to protest marches in Chicago to the Florida Everglades, that explores delineating lines of race, class, religion, and time. Scrappy, street smart drug dealer Reggie Marshall has never liked the simpering addict Leland Bloom-Mittwoch, which doesn’t stop Leland from looking up to Reggie with puppy-esque devotion. But when a drug deal goes dramatically, tragically wrong and a suitcase (which may or may not contain a quarter of a million dollars) disappears, the two men and their families become hopelessly entangled. It’s a mistake that sets in motion a series of events that are odd, captivating, suspenseful, and ultimately inevitable. Both incendiary and earnest, The Comedown steadfastly catalogs the tangled messes the characters make of their lives, never losing sight of the beauty and power of each family member’s capacity for love, be it for money, drugs, or each other. “A resounding success.” —The L.A. Review of Books “Ambitious, exhilarating . . . so compelling that, even when the novel concludes, the reader is left wondering where their lives took them.” —The Columbus Dispatch “An engrossing read. . . . Frumkin is whip-smart and funny.” —The Millions “Frumkin’s debut may find itself sharing shelf space with Franzen and Chabon.” —Full Stop “Frumkin has talent to burn.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review “Vivid and compassionately drawn characters.” —Library Journal (starred) “Funny, heartbreaking. . . . Frumkin’s intelligence and empathy radiates off every page.” —Carmen Maria Machado, author of Her Body and Other Parties

Shares uplifting advice about the virtues of forgiveness, offering strategic and biblically based advice on how to achieve peace and personal fulfillment by letting go of past wrongs.

A beautiful 65th anniversary paperback edition of the landmark literary work by acclaimed author Paul Bowles. In this classic work of psychological terror, Paul Bowles examines the ways in which Americans apprehend an alien culture--and the ways in which their incomprehension destroys them. The story of three American travelers adrift in the cities and deserts of North Africa after World War II, The Sheltering Sky is at once merciless and heartbreaking in its compassion. It etches the limits of human reason and intelligence--perhaps even the limits of human life--when they touch the unfathomable emptiness and impassive cruelty of the desert.

After a scarring teenage experience, Bethany Cary has erected walls around her heart. Doctor Luke Willoughs has done the same since his wife's death. Together, they can make the walls come tumbling down, but at what cost? Bethany is content with her life as a preschool teacher. She is certain she'll never marry, definitely never fall in love. Then she feels a call to work in Africa. She doesn't know when or how, but she begins preparations. As the school year progresses, she becomes close to four-year-old Jenny, who lost her mother at birth. Soon Bethany is babysitting Jenny, and she strikes up a friendship with Jenny's strikingly handsome father, a surgeon. Luke has been preparing to return to Africa to continue his mission work as a doctor, but he will not go without Jenny. Recognizing that Jenny needs a mother and that Bethany has become a good friend to him, he asks for Bethany's hand in marriage. With their hearts so firmly guarded, neither of them can contemplate ever falling in love, so it seems an ideal solution. When they arrive in Africa, Luke is forced to face haunting memories of the woman he still loves, and Bethany's world is turned upside down. Their walls are soon higher and stronger than ever before, driving them apart. Does God have a plan to bring them together, unguarded, or have they made the biggest mistake of their lives? Vivian Jenkins's own missionary experiences in Zimbabwe are woven into the story throughout, creating a spellbinding, poignant read. Let the Walls Come Down.