Book 1, Tea in the Sahara: Chapters 1-4 Summary

The Sheltering Sky by Paul Bowles is a story of innocents abroad in an unfamiliar land. It follows three American travelers as they move farther from civilization in post-war Africa. They find themselves cut off from the certainties of home and are all but destroyed by what they experience.

In Chapter 1, Port Moresby, an American traveler, wakes from an afternoon nap in his hotel room in Oran, Algeria. Still reeling from his dream, Port momentarily does not know where he is. As he gets his bearings, he hears his wife, Kit, moving around in the next room.

In Chapter 2, Port and Kit sit on the terrace of a café. Port is looking at maps with their friend, Tunner. They have been traveling since before World War II, and their intention in...