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The Sheltering Sky (1990): Film vs Book
Film · 1990 · Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci · Starring Debra Winger, John Malkovich
About the film
An American couple and a friend travel deep into the Sahara in the years after the war, and their marriage slowly comes apart.
How close is it to the book?
Close to the bookThe film follows the book's journey and its growing sense of isolation. It adds a narrator, the author himself, who speaks at the beginning and end.
Read or watch first?
The novel is more philosophical, and its descriptions of the desert are as important as the plot.
What the book gives you
The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles
A hypnotic, vivid journey through the desert that draws you into another world.
Who will like it: Readers who enjoy atmospheric stories of travel and the unknown.