Books like The Sheltering Sky

The Sheltering Sky is a 1949 novel of alienation and existential despair by American writer and composer Paul Bowles.

The story centers on Port Moresby and his wife Kit, a married couple originally from New York who travel to the North African desert accompanied by their friend Tunner. The journey, initially an attempt by Port and Kit to resolve their marital difficulties, is quickly fraught by the travelers' ignorance of the dangers that surround them.

Time magazine included the novel in its TIME 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005. The Modern Library also included it on their 100 best of the century, ranked at number 97.

The novel was adapted by Bernardo Bertolucci into a 1990 film with the same title starring Debra Winger and John Malkovich, and with a screenplay by Mark Peploe. The movie was filmed in Morocco, Algeria, and Niger and features powerful landscapes.