London, John Lehmann, 1949. His first and best known book, in which a disaffected American couple meets the harsh reality of the Moroccan desert, with less than happy results. One of the seminal novels of the Beat and counterculture era: Bowles's accounts of experimenting with north African hashish and kif became the keystones of a new attitude toward recreational drug use during those years. Filmed in 1990 by Bernardo Bertolucci with Debra Winger, John Malkovich, and the author in a small role, in a not completely successful adaptation of the book. The first printing was only 4000 copies: Bowles had only published one chapbook prior to this novel, consisting of two poems, and issued 16 years earlier, in 1933. Time magazine included it on its list of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923-2005. Fine in a fine, first issue dust jacket, with the white portion around the publisher's name completely unblemished, and the spine completely unfaded. The nicest copy we've seen. From the collection of Bruce Kahn. [#911010] SOLD