Paul Bowles, Points in Time, 1982

A curious series of vignettes of both historical and modern Moroccan life, some based on true events that illustrate Islam’s troubled interactions with Christianity and Judaism. Paul Bowles’s spare, dry style makes an impression, and he was able to delineate his stories with some sufficiently arid language that renders a harsh and discomfiting picture of the times and locations. On the strength of this collection it’s easy to see how his own long experience of Morocco led him to being regarded as such a highly valued writer.   PY