THE DESERT & ITS INFLUENCE IN THE NOVEL

Almasy is mesmerized by the things and people that have preceded him; the things of historical significance, and the fact that he is able to touch and traverse the same path so many have tread. The desert allows him to take on a new identity, or at least to abolish his own. It's a place of freedom; it can't be claimed or owned.

read The Sheltering Sky by paul Bowles

as a novel on this theme