97. "The Sheltering Sky," Paul Bowles

I had no idea what to expect from this one, especially since John Malkovich starred in the movie adaptation. He's done some incredible films, but he's done some odd ones too. At any rate, the novel, written in 1949, follows Port and Kit Moresby, adventure travellers from New York, as they travel across the North African desert with their friend Tunner.

Somehow, Bowles manages to create character depth and yet not cause the reader, in my case, to become overly attached to any of them. No one seems to really like anyone. There is romance (at least attempted), intrigue, lots of travel, a secret affair and disease. When Port dies from his typhoid, Kit disappears. Tunner keeps faith that she'll turn up and, when she does, I thought that, while not the nicest method, Tunner and Kit could finally be together. Instead, Kit runs away again, presumably never to be found.

I'm starting to have mixed feelings about this list. Would it really kill these people to write a happy ending?