The Delicate Prey audiobook

The Delicate Prey and Other Stories, Paul BowlesThe Delicate Prey and Other Stories is a collection of 17 stories written by Paul Bowles, first published in 1950.The stories: At paso rojo,Pastor Dowe at Tacaté, Call at Corazon,Under the Sky,Señor Ong and Señor Ha,The Circular Valley, The echo

Paul Bowles is a master of writing horror without writing horror. Only one story in this collection hints at the supernatural, but they all induce a sense of deep unease.

A superb collection of short stories. I wouldn't call them horror and most are not even of the supernatural but these stories stirred up a definite sense of intrigue, mystery and unease as I read them. Even 'The Scorpion', a really short story about an old woman who lived in a cave, with a rather abrupt ending, left me with a weird, queasy, indescribable feeling. I just could not stop reading and whenever I was away from it, I wanted to get back to it as soon as possible. The stories that stood out the most for me were 'Senor Ong and Senor Ha', 'The Circular Valley' and 'Pages from Cold Point'. I can't wait to read more from this author.

It was in an essay by Gore Vidal that I first encountered the name Paul Bowles many years ago. At the time I was a teenager working in a small used bookstore where a large portion of my meager earnings wound up going right back to the store for books. I asked the proprietor of the store if we had any books by Paul Bowles. She pulled a volume from the shelf behind the counter saying “yes, and it is a first edition”. At the time I could not understand why anyone would buy a hardcover book when a paperback edition of than same book existed, but since there was no paperback copy of the book in the store I put up the big money ($7.50) to purchase this first edition. That was the first first edition I even purchased knowing that it was actually a first edition, and it was a good start to my book collecting mania… These are amazing stories that reminded me in some ways of Poe, but with a stronger sense of horror and the incomprehensibility of different cultures. Highly recommended!

Bowles' prose is cold and elegant. His themes are disculturation and dislingual anxiety. "A Distant Episode" and "The Scorpion" stand as antitheses to the presumption of the necessity of Western modes of socialization and communication. Horrifying and riveting stuff.

This book doesn't care if you live or die . . .

Sparse and sinister tales make-up this collection of Bowle's darker fiction. Full of quiet menace, each tales paints a different shade of alienation - whether it's in Latin America, Morocco or Manhattan, each exposes individuals on the precipice of some life-changing (life-threatening) moment. He wisely grazes the surface and leaves much to the imagination, but others (including the brutal 'A Distant Episode') goes for the throat. From the era of the late 40s, early 50's, Bowles tales are right up there with Daphne Du Maurier's. Well-to-do tourists be warned next time you try to integrate yourself into a culture that doesn't want to welcome you.

I've long admired the dark novels of Paul Bowles (The Sheltering Sky; Let It Come Down; Up Above the World) and his excellent memoir Without Stopping, but his short stores are utterly strange, illuminated and cruel. They seem to have been written by a man in a fever with ice in his veins. My favorites: "Delicate Prey," "A Distant Episode" and especially the ultra-chilling "Pages from Cold Point."

Visceral.

What a joyful quick read, this was a random pick up a book on the side of the road sort of thing. With the penguin stamp of approval and only 54 pages long I knew it wouldn’t be to much of a risk. An extremely short book with three short stories ‘The Delicate Prey’ a frightful tale of befriending a stranger, ‘A Distant Episode’ a terrifying account of kidnapping and slavery and ‘The Circular Valley’ A tale of a crumbling Monastery haunted by a living spirit called an Atlájala. All three are beautifully written short stories and a perfect introduction to Bowles.

"A distant episode" is one of the most scorching stories written by an American(ex-pat or otherwise) in the 20th century...intelligent, visceral, and very scary.(the image of the dog hit with a rock will never...ever leave me.)"Pages from Cold Point" and "Delicate Prey" are also nasty little bundles.

'The Delicate Prey' and 'A Distant Episode' are stunners. Bowles remains one of my top five, all time faves.