Thorny
Grove Soto's friend from student days, brought down from Canada and kept on a short financial leash.
Company, a better dinner than he can afford, and to stay close to the only rich friend he has.
The book
At a glance
- Canada
- Since their student days
- Barely enough for a cheap apartment and simple food
Who they are in the book
Spoiler-freeThorny knew Grove Soto as a student and was encouraged by him to leave Canada and settle in the capital. Bowles calls him a ruin. He is quick and perceptive, appreciates Grove thoroughly, and is not easy to manipulate — which is precisely why Grove wanted him nearby.
His income barely covers a cheap apartment and plain food, so an invitation is never refused. Grove understands the arithmetic exactly: the longer and more involved the trip, the more of Thorny's own money is left unspent when he gets home.
How Thorny Is Portrayed
- Imported from CanadaGrove "had encouraged Thorny to forsake Canada and come to live in the capital".
- "A ruin"Bowles's word. He had been that already during their student days together.
- Not easy to manipulate"He was quick, intuitive, and appreciative of every facet of Grove's personality (without, however, being easy to manipulate)."
- He knows about the apparatus"Thorny knew all about it; he had noticed that the functioning of the device made Grove silent and morose."
If you like Up Above the World
If you like Paul Bowles
Explore authors with a similar voice, perspective, and influence.
Louis-Ferdinand Céline
The doctor of the Paris slums who wrote the century's blackest, funniest novel — and changed the sound of French prose.
View author
Henry Miller
The Brooklyn dropout who arrived in Paris broke at thirty-eight and wrote the exuberant, banned books that ended American censorship.
View author
Martha Gellhorn
War correspondent who covered the Spanish Civil War, D-Day, and conflicts across five more decades; Hemingway's third wife, 1940–1945.
View author