Mon, May 11 · 8:00 PM EEST
The Woman in the Dunes is a 1962 novel by Abe Kobo that has achieved a lasting success and is considered one of the finest Japanese novels of the post-World War II period. The novel tells the story of a schoolteacher and amateur entomologist Jumpei Niki, who travels to a remote coastal village to collect rare insects. He finds himself trapped in a sand pit where a woman lives, digging sand daily to prevent the village from being buried. Jumpei is forced to join her labor, gradually realizing the futility of his situation and the impossiblity of escape. In the process, he begins to re-evaluate his life and the relationships with those around him.
According to George Mullan, Abe's linguistic craft is profoundly evident in the novel. With a sparse ensemble of characters and a story that takes place in one bare location, a strong sense of constriction is established. Essentially, the sand itself becomes a quasi-character in the book; it constantly clings to the couple and pervades their bodies and thoughts. With the protagonist's name rarely used and the woman remaining nameless throughout, The Woman in the Dunes alllows for the characters and their story to take on a universal quality.
Tokyo-born Kobo Abe was a prominent postwar Japanese writerThe Wall and became known for blending surrealism, absurdity, and social critique in works examining alienation and entrapment. He was influenced by existentialists like Kafka, Camus and Sartre, as well as, Western philosophers such as Nietzsche and Heideger.
The Woman in the Dune earned Abe the 1962 Yomiuri Prize for Literature, and sold over 100, 000 copies in Japan.
This is an online meetup where the first half of Abe's book is discussed. (There will be a follow-up meeting focusing on the 2nd half of the book and on Teshigahara's film)
