''Let It Come Down'' is

Paul Bowles Paul Frederic Bowles (; December 30, 1910November 18, 1999) was an American expatriate composer, author, and translator. He became associated with the Moroccan city of Tangier, where he settled in 1947 and lived for 52 years to the end of his ...

's second novel, first published in 1952.

Plot introduction

A dark, even bleak, novel, ''Let It Come Down'' follows American Nelson Dyar as he arrives in the International Zone of Tangier, Morocco to begin a new job and a new life. Dyar's exploration of the brothels, drugs and unsavoury characters of Tangier leads him gradually, logically, to a sinister conclusion.

Explanation of the novel's title

Bowles took the book's title from ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'' III.3, just before Banquo is murdered: :Banquo: It will be rain to-night. :1st. Murd.: Let it come down. :''(They set upon Banquo.)'' The author has described the line as an ‘admirable four-word sentence, succinct and brutal’.

Major themes

Like much of Bowles's writing, ''Let It Come Down'' seems to be concerned with the danger and chaos which can result in being immersed into an unfamiliar society. By the time the book was published, Tangier had become a fully Moroccan city, but before that, and in the setting of the novel, it was an International Zone which is seen as a melting-pot for many diverse and unconventional elements. Dyar, who has little personality of his own, tries to indulge his instincts by exploring the seedier side of the city; but, because he does not fully understand the limits or standards of the society he is in, he is unable to stop himself from going too far. Thus, Dyar allows situations to, in fact, react off of himself in his attempt to live by utopian free choice. However, he must eventually start taking responsibility for his own actions when consequences are set naturally upon him. Behind the useful façade of a civilised society, Bowles's book suggests, there is only the stark futility of cause, and inescapable effect.

Selected printings

*1952, London, John Lehmann, hardback (1st edition) *1952, New York, Random House, hardback (1st US) *1953, US, Signet, paperback (1st US paperback) *1980, Santa Barbara, California, Black Sparrow Press, paperback *1984, UK, Peter Owen, hardback *2000, UK, Penguin, paperback 1952 American novels Novels by Paul Bowles Random House books Novels set in Tangier {{1950s-novel-stub