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Kobo Abe

JapaneseMarch 7, 1924 – January 22, 1993Science Fiction

Kobo Abe was a Japanese author of existentialist science fiction and surrealist fiction who is often compared to Kafka. The Woman in the Dunes is his most celebrated work, depicting a man trapped with a widow in a sand pit in a parable of social entrapment. The Box Man and Inter Ice Age 4 are also remarkable SF works.

Works

  • The Woman in the DunesMan trapped in sand pit with woman, isolation and escape become impossible→
  • The Face of AnotherMan wears artificial face to assume new identity and explore human nature→
  • The Box ManHomeless man lives in a large box, observing city life from isolation→
  • Inter Ice Age 4Science fiction exploring human extinction and civilization's replacement by machines→
  • The Ruined MapMan searches for missing wife through labyrinthine city streets and confusion→
  • Secret RendezvousCouple meets at arranged hotel room for clandestine encounters and intimacy→

Related

Stanislaw Lem·Jorge Luis Borges·Philip K. Dick·Mishima Yukio·Oe Kenzaburo·Kawabata Yasunari·Murakami Haruki
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