The Woman in the Dunes
April 13, 2008
"The Woman in the Dunes" by Kobo Abe
Vintage 1972 paperback edition
One of the most haunting of all existential novels, "The Woman in the Dunes" is a masterpiece of tension and mood. It tells the story of an amateur entomologist who is captured by a small coastal town and forced to live with a woman in a pit in the sand dunes. Together, they work to dig away the ever encroaching sand. The man at first refuses to believe this can be happening to him, but slowly begins to understand the nature of his predicament. If he doesn't work he will be buried alive. The town, concerned with saving itself from the dunes, cares nothing for his personal feelings. Slowly, after all avenues of rebellion have been attempted and failed, he begins to find acceptance in his position. Through this simple but lyrically told tale, Abe has crafted a compelling parable about human existence that is both sad, honest and even somewhat hopeful.
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