Conocida hasta ahora por el lector español como La tierra caliente, Por encima del mundo es la última novela larga de Paul Bowles. En la terraza de un apartamento con vistas a una capital latinoamericana, un matrimonio de estadounidenses, los Slade, conversa con un hombre atractivo y su amante, una joven de extraordinaria belleza. Mientras contemplan la puesta de sol, los Slade disfrutan de ese encuentro casual que todo turista desea.

Loved the slow, languid pace of the book. A travelogue that goes into the dark places. ( )

From the opening scene of "Up Above The World" the atmosphere is ominous - every detail emphasized, like it is going to be very important later to remember exactly what happened up to the point of crisis. And you know without a doubt a crisis is coming. It always does in Bowles’ novels.

Paul Bowles is a fabulous writer. His quirky novels generally take place in exotic remote places, foreign lands, away from American tourist sites - also away from the safety of American law and order.

Dr. Slade and his young wife are world travelers. They like to drift about with no planned schedule and no firm destination in mind. This is a cautionary tale of what can happen if you are friendly and naive, and get too comfortable and confident in strange environments. Of course, the story takes place prior to the existence of cell-phones which increases the danger.

Bowles is good at character development, descriptions of scenery, dialogue, and above all building suspense and creating a mood in a shroud of mystery.

Written in the third person, you - the reader - are well aware everything is not as it appears to the Slade’s. In fact, at times they seem ridiculously trusting and naive - especially Mrs. Slade, who recklessly offers to share sleeping quarters with a complete stranger. From that moment on - you know Mrs. Slade is going to eventually get herself into big trouble.

"Up Above the World" is not Bowles’ best novel - in fact, it is more like a novella - just over 200 pages. But even so, it is far better than many other books of the suspense - thriller genre. And Bowles cleverly manages to present a surprise Hitchcock type crescendo to the plot. ( )

Leaving aside that the Latin Americans in the novel are mere cartoony props (the closest to being a fully realized human is a feral Cuban whose main characteristics include non-stop pot smoking and being wild in bed), the high points of the novel (hallucinatory fevers and creeping paranoia) are undermined by a cheap denouement. ( )

Up Above the World is the story of two Americans, a retired doctor and his young wife, travelling through Central America and of what befalls them when they encounter another couple, one of whom may be intent upon doing the travellers harm.

I suppose it wouldn't be stretching things too much to liken the book to The Comfort of Strangers but written by someone with the eye of an artist, the ear of a musician (naturally--Bowles was in fact a musician), the prose of a poet and the ability to re-create one's worst nightmare. Bowles excels at depicting landscape, from scrubby plain to dry jungle, and its inhabitants, from crickets singing in the sultry nights to unwordly spiders to inscrutable humans. No doubt that's the reason his books are so full of atmosphere. In this one, the atmosphere from the start is one of menace and doom; I can't convey how oppressively ominous it is but shall say I put it aside for a few moments now and again simply for relief.

It's a shame Bowles seems to be something of a cult writer and perhaps as famous for his life as for his books: he's a far more skilful writer than many better-known ones are.. If you've not tried him, he's certainly worth a go and if you've read only The Sheltering Sky, this one is at least as good as it is.