{"product_id":"collected-stories","title":"Collected Stories","description":"\u003cp\u003ePaul Bowles's Collected Stories gathers the American expatriate's tales of abandonment and vengeance in sun-drenched, brutal settings: North Africa, Central America, the psychic borderlands of the West. A missionary arrives where his God has no power; a honeymooning husband abandons his wife in the South American jungle. Bowles writes with the calm of someone who has watched civilization fail often enough to stop being surprised.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eEcco's edition keeps the collection in print in a straightforward paperback format. It is a useful introduction to a writer whose reputation rests on discomfort rather than consolation, best suited to readers who do not require a vacation story to feel like a vacation, and who can accept that the sunniest settings sometimes hide the darkest conclusions.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Vagabound","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48479535857876,"sku":"0876853963","price":8.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0802\/5410\/7860\/files\/9780876853962.jpg?v=1786814630","url":"https:\/\/checkout.vagaboundbooks.com\/products\/collected-stories","provider":"Vagabound","version":"1.0","type":"link"}