Everything Is Nice

Everything is Nice: Short story by Jane BowlesIn this story by Jane Bowles an American woman living alone in a Moroccan hotel is befriended by a Moslem woman who appears to know a lot about her movements. On the pretext of taking her to a wedding, the Moslem woman leads her to a dimly lit room where a group of other Moslem women ask probing questions about her life and presence in the city. Uncomfortable about the personal nature of the questions, she rudely refuses their offer of refreshments and abruptly leaves. Themes include women’s independence, identity, isolation and loneliness, cultural division.

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Camp Cataract

Camp Cataract: Short story by Jane BowlesThis story from Jane Bowles examines the toxic relationship between three troubled sisters who share a city apartment. One of them is midway through a ten-week holiday in a Camp Cataract cabin as part of a long-term plan to move out and live independently. When another turns up uninvited, hoping to convince her to cut the holiday short, they arrange to meet for lunch the next day. Both have different recollections of what happens the following morning. Madness intervenes, and only one of them survives the day. Themes: self-analysis, identity, independence, mental illness, spinsterhood, female relationships.

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