The Woman in the Dunes
by Kobo Abe
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Read in January, 2008
The Kobo Abe novel "Woman in the Dunes is a Japanese novel written in the 1960s and made in the same person. It traces, in a small book of less then 300 pages, the implications of being alienated and the contradictions of conformity freedom if that conformity has a purpose.
Niki Junpei a teacher trapped in a empty teaching job, a failed relationship and a life mapped up to retirement and death goes a secret 3 day trip- done to wind up his work colleagues. He is an amateur entomologist (...more
Niki Junpei a teacher trapped in a empty teaching job, a failed relationship and a life mapped up to retirement and death goes a secret 3 day trip- done to wind up his work colleagues. He is an amateur entomologist (...more
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Read in January, 2008
The Kobo Abe novel "Woman in the Dunes is a Japanese novel written in the 1960s and made in the same person. It traces, in a small book of less then 300 pages, the implications of being alienated and the contradictions of conformity freedom if that conformity has a purpose.
Niki Junpei a teacher trapped in a empty teaching job, a failed relationship and a life mapped up to retirement and death goes a secret 3 day trip- done to wind up his work colleagues. He is an amateur entomologist (...more
Niki Junpei a teacher trapped in a empty teaching job, a failed relationship and a life mapped up to retirement and death goes a secret 3 day trip- done to wind up his work colleagues. He is an amateur entomologist (...more
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An amatuer entomologist goes to a remote seaside village for specimens and finds himself involved in a bizarre nightmare scenario with the people there. I’m not sure how else the title might be translated from the Japanese, and though the “woman” mentioned is very much central to the novel, I think Mindfuck in the Dunes would have also been an apt title. It was so exciting to be pulled into this tale, and while it isn’t entirely about PLOT, I’m not going to say too much more along thos...more
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Read in January, 1999
recommends it for:
For fans of Kafka, Beckett and Satre
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Read in November, 2004
recommends it for:
good friends that you kind of hate a little
My first year at SFSU, me and my roommate decided to recommend books to each other, books we loved, in order to get to know each other better. It was the kind of quasi-homoerotic, pseudo-intellectual buddy activity which has since become the staple of our relationship.
The first book he recommended was "Woman in the Dunes". I struggled with it and felt intellectually inferior. He was my friend and I wanted to like it. I tried really hard. I fell asleep reading it at least three time...more
The first book he recommended was "Woman in the Dunes". I struggled with it and felt intellectually inferior. He was my friend and I wanted to like it. I tried really hard. I fell asleep reading it at least three time...more
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An arrogant entomologist accepts an invitation to stay in a strange village, and awakens to find himself trapped in an absurdist nightmare. Now confined in a sand pit with an enigmatic woman, he is forced to shovel sand to keep the village's economy from collapsing. Abe is a master at creating an overall mood of fear, tension and confinement - just witness all the claustrophobes who had to put the book down!
One caveat - Woman in the Dunes goes to very uncomfortable places with sex, ge...more
One caveat - Woman in the Dunes goes to very uncomfortable places with sex, ge...more
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Read in February, 2008
This story is about a quiet entomologist who is visits a small seaside village to collect bug specimens. But his peaceful holiday turns sinister when the villagers deceive him, trap him in a sand-surrounded hole, and force him into daily manual labor with no hope of escape. Oh yeah, he's trapped with a timid woman also, hence the book's title. Since I'm a little claustrophobic, this book scared the crap out of me. Finishing it felt like waking from a nightmare--just because of the subject matter...more
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
existentialists
This is a Kafka-esque tale of a man who is imprisoned in a pit and forced to dig sand. The man struggles both with his captors and with his own thoughts; he wrestles with meaning, individuality, and identity as he slowly adjusts to, and even becomes attached to, his repetitive life.
The book could be a bit helter-skelter; the man's thoughts sometimes jump around in a way that make the actual events hard to follow. There were often several metaphors piled up on one another, which was a bit con...more
The book could be a bit helter-skelter; the man's thoughts sometimes jump around in a way that make the actual events hard to follow. There were often several metaphors piled up on one another, which was a bit con...more
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Read in January, 1998
First let me say my low rating is extreme bias on my part. I am claustrophobic. Not in all situations, but in specific situations. When I read this book I found my claustrophobia extends to a situation I have never found myself in - living in a house surrounded on all sides by high sand. I am sure this book is very well written because it put me in such a state as to have to put it down and go get some fresh air - continuously.
So, I'm pretty sure this was a good book - it's just that I didn...more
So, I'm pretty sure this was a good book - it's just that I didn...more
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
Kafka fans
A Japanese Kafka, milder, perhaps. The book is deceptively simple, the plot engaging, quick. It is like a cliffnotes take on The Trial, set in a coastal village sand dunes outside some Japanese city.
The point - that sometimes one has so thoroughly accepted her predicament that she doesn't recognize a way out, even when one presents itself.
or...
When all we know are the walls of a prison, the walls become our comfort, and we come to think we need them, that therein lies our ident...more
The point - that sometimes one has so thoroughly accepted her predicament that she doesn't recognize a way out, even when one presents itself.
or...
When all we know are the walls of a prison, the walls become our comfort, and we come to think we need them, that therein lies our ident...more
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2 comments
recommends it for:
kafka fans, existentialists
A profound work from an important Japanese novelist...I don't really know how to review this one. I think it's an important book to read. The 5 stars from me are because it IS "amazing," not because I enjoyed it like I would a hot-fudge sundae.
It's frustrating, visceral, uncomfortable, beautiful, tragic, enlightening...and you will never, ever, ever consider having sex on a beach after reading it. There. That had to be said. This is one of those great novels that makes you...s
It's frustrating, visceral, uncomfortable, beautiful, tragic, enlightening...and you will never, ever, ever consider having sex on a beach after reading it. There. That had to be said. This is one of those great novels that makes you...s
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Read in February, 2007
recommends it for:
Kafka, Joy Williams, Lydia Davis
I like this book.
It is very calm and detached. The character is in a terrible situation and then accepts the situation and experiences despair but not more despair than he would experience in any other situation, even if it was a situation like having relationship problems, even though his situation would be viewed as very terrible by most people.
I like the ending of this book. I felt very calm after reading it. I like this book because it is nice, calm, detached, and funny.
It is very calm and detached. The character is in a terrible situation and then accepts the situation and experiences despair but not more despair than he would experience in any other situation, even if it was a situation like having relationship problems, even though his situation would be viewed as very terrible by most people.
I like the ending of this book. I felt very calm after reading it. I like this book because it is nice, calm, detached, and funny.
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I wonder if I like this book. Thinking of this book makes me sick to my stomach, but it's such an interesting story. Like a dream, one of those dreams where you are trapped in concrete space and are powerless to change your surroundings and the effect they have on you. Which is a lot like reality...
But this book makes me sick to my stomach. Maybe it was because I read most of it and finished it in the emergency room. Could be that.
But this book makes me sick to my stomach. Maybe it was because I read most of it and finished it in the emergency room. Could be that.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in January, 2002
recommends it for:
Everyone
This is an amazing novel by one of my favorite Japanese authors. It's extremely visual and often has a very apparent cadence.
I once worked with a guy at Amoeba who told me that it was the best representation of every relationship he had ever been in, which probably explains why he always wore long sleeves.
Beautiful and is only rivaled by the movie adaptation by Teshigahara. Amazing. Must read.
I once worked with a guy at Amoeba who told me that it was the best representation of every relationship he had ever been in, which probably explains why he always wore long sleeves.
Beautiful and is only rivaled by the movie adaptation by Teshigahara. Amazing. Must read.
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Read in June, 1992
recommends it for:
Readers who enjoy the "big questions" about who we are and how much personal control we heve
WOMAN IN THE DUNE is a very surreal tale of a man who goes for a walk in the dunes. As moves deeper into this strange place he begins to see people actually living in holes in the dunes. He doesn't know if he is hallucinating or if he has entered another plane.
When he is approached by the males they are quietly hostile and hint that he will never escape this place because ...
<NO SPOILER I>
When he is approached by the males they are quietly hostile and hint that he will never escape this place because ...
<NO SPOILER I>
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Read in September, 2006
recommends it for:
everyone
sometimes freedom becomes a trap when faced with the task of choosing. when choice is just between that which you thought you always wanted and that which you thought you could always be rid of. when the obvious becomes obscure and the easy option becomes expendable, the self--that seems free to make a decision--is a snare.
this book is a trap. from beginning to end. especially the end. ^^
this book is a trap. from beginning to end. especially the end. ^^
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In contrast to Kawabata, Abe's work tends toward the Existential and is sharply modern. This book has a well-written discussion of the symbolism attached to condom use, and you probably will never want to have sex on the beach after reading it. Sand gets everywhere.
But in a deeper sense, it's an interesting book about the niches we all find for ourselves and how we come to accept them.
But in a deeper sense, it's an interesting book about the niches we all find for ourselves and how we come to accept them.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
—
Read in January, 2008
The Woman in the Dunes is an allegory for accepted social practices of modern human existence. The novel is very poetic, extremely absurd, and comical as well as fundamentally sad and daunting. Why would anyone choose this existence is what the novel seems to ask. And yet, we do, not without a struggle first, and it’s the struggle that makes the novel interesting.
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It's odd, I liked this book in that it stirred up feelings of oppression and isolation in me. It took me a long time to read because I didn't want to feel those things, but I kept coming back for more. I wanted to see what would happen. In the end, I grew to accept everything in the book that had happened to the main character. I felt calm by the end of the book.
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Read in October, 1999
Some books turn ugly with how much truth they pack in to themselves. Woman in the Dunes isn't really entertaining to read, but it is fascinating, and just about swallows you whole. It is terrifying and frustrating without bringing any of the satisfaction or simple thrills of horror. Excited to read this yet? You'll just have to take my word for it.
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