by Kōbō Abe

Paperback (Penguin Classics, 2006)
ISBN‎ 978-0141188522
256 pages

Niki Jumpei, an amateur entomologist, searches the scorching desert for beetles. As night falls, he is forced to seek shelter in an eerie village, half-buried by huge sand dunes. He awakes to the terrifying realization that the villagers have imprisoned him with a young woman at the bottom of a vast sandpit. Tricked into slavery and threatened with starvation if he does not work, Jumpei’s only chance is to shovel the ever-encroaching sand – or face an agonizing death.

Among the greatest Japanese novels of the twentieth century, The Woman in the Dunes combines the essence of myth, suspense, and the existential novel.

About the author

Kōbō Abe (1924–1993), born Kimifusa Abe in Tokyo, was a Japanese writer, playwright, photographer, and inventor. He spent much of his early life in Manchuria (now Shenyang, China), where his father taught at the medical college. Abe studied medicine at Tokyo Imperial University but chose not to practice, dedicating himself instead to literature and the arts.

His works often explore themes of identity, alienation, and the absurdity of human existence, drawing comparisons to writers like Franz Kafka. Notable works include The Face of Another, The Box Man, and The Ark Sakura. Abe also collaborated with director Hiroshi Teshigahara on film adaptations of several of his novels, including The Woman in the Dunes.