Why does Bowles play cat and mouse with his characters so much? It’s a strange use of authorship. A way of being a godlike creator I guess. So then you pity his characters as not having a chance. I don’t know now if Bowles is such a good writer. It finally occurs to me that the “delicate prey” are indeed his brainchildren, he being their predatory and omnipotent author. It’s his right as a writer of fiction— but this calls attention to his artifice, demystifying the whole thing. No doubt it’s what Bowles wanted.
Did it take me a year to make these observations? I must’ve been very sleepy last winter. But I was never a fiction writer myself— not seriously. I’ve been a naïve realist reading Bowles; everything is what it is in the narrative, or was to me. But to him it is ever a creative activity, having the almighty pencil and eraser with his stories. The ink and the snow opaque. And I was just his fool and victim. Another prey.
robgradens 
I haven’t read any of Bowles’s work. You’ve piqued my curiosity.
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The place to start is with The Sheltering Sky. It was his first novel and the best. Bowles is a talented writer, though some may criticize his moral fiber. I don’t know; you either like him or you don’t. Good luck if you do read it. Have a nice day, Liz!
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Thank you for the recommendation, Rob. I hope your day goes well, too!
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