Sunday, August 25, 2019

The woman in the dunes

The woman in the dunes / Kobo Abe translated by E. Dale Saunders, 239 pgs.

A school teacher and amateur entomologist misses a bus and if forced to seek shelter in an odd sea-side town.  He lodges with a widow who lives at the bottom of a vast sand pit.  When he tries to leave the next day, it becomes apparent that the townspeople have other plans.  He is held captive in the pit with the woman who shovels away at the endlessly sifting sand.  He plots his escape but finds himself in a relationship and with a new understanding of the meaning of life.  Eerie and odd, I'm tempted to watch the movie of the same name to get a better feel for the endless shoveling.

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