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Женщина в песках / Чужое лицо
Герой «Женщины в песках» (1963)—личность заурядная, он скромный учитель. У него одна страсть—коллекционирование насекомых и одна мечта — обнаружить новый вид.
«Удастся это — и в энтомологическом атласе рядом с длинным ученым латинским названием найденного насекомого появится и твое имя, и не исключено, что оно останется там на века». оно останется там на века». И вот этот человек, мечтавший хоть чем-нибудь прославить свое имя, утвердить себя как личность,— пропал.
Отправившись на воскресную прогулку за город, он попадает в руки обитателей некой деревушки, которые заняты единственно тем, что отгребают песок, грозящий засыпать их жилища. Он оказывается пленником в глубокой песчаной яме и вынужден разделить с некой одинокой Женщиной ее сизифов труд.
Человек, выбитый из жизненных связей, отъединенный от мира, оказавшийся в заключении,— одна из распространенных ситуаций новой мировой литературы.
Притчи Кобо Абэ так же парадоксальны, как просты его повествования. Множественность решений, тщательно взвешиваемых автором по ходу действия, иногда озадачивает, раздражает, вызывает внутренний протест — так же, как озадачивает и раздражает неприглядная, натуралистическая, до ощущения скрипа песка на зубах, предметность.
Универсальность притчи балансируется доскональным правдоподобием в частностях. И тем более выношенными предстают выводы, к которым исподволь готовил нас писатель, его трезвый и требовательный, без иллюзий и самообмана, гуманизм. Наверно, он мог бы повторить вслед за Брехтом: «Чтоб добрым быть, я должен быть жесток».
В настоящее издание вошли два произведения К.Абэ - "Женщина в песках" и "Чужое лицо".
«Удастся это — и в энтомологическом атласе рядом с длинным ученым латинским названием найденного насекомого появится и твое имя, и не исключено, что оно останется там на века». оно останется там на века». И вот этот человек, мечтавший хоть чем-нибудь прославить свое имя, утвердить себя как личность,— пропал.
Отправившись на воскресную прогулку за город, он попадает в руки обитателей некой деревушки, которые заняты единственно тем, что отгребают песок, грозящий засыпать их жилища. Он оказывается пленником в глубокой песчаной яме и вынужден разделить с некой одинокой Женщиной ее сизифов труд.
Человек, выбитый из жизненных связей, отъединенный от мира, оказавшийся в заключении,— одна из распространенных ситуаций новой мировой литературы.
Притчи Кобо Абэ так же парадоксальны, как просты его повествования. Множественность решений, тщательно взвешиваемых автором по ходу действия, иногда озадачивает, раздражает, вызывает внутренний протест — так же, как озадачивает и раздражает неприглядная, натуралистическая, до ощущения скрипа песка на зубах, предметность.
Универсальность притчи балансируется доскональным правдоподобием в частностях. И тем более выношенными предстают выводы, к которым исподволь готовил нас писатель, его трезвый и требовательный, без иллюзий и самообмана, гуманизм. Наверно, он мог бы повторить вслед за Брехтом: «Чтоб добрым быть, я должен быть жесток».
В настоящее издание вошли два произведения К.Абэ - "Женщина в песках" и "Чужое лицо".
432 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1964
21 people are currently reading
770 people want to read
About the author
Kōbō Abe
215 books2,058 followersKōbō Abe (安部 公房 Abe Kōbō), pseudonym of Kimifusa Abe, was a Japanese writer, playwright, photographer, and inventor.
He was the son of a doctor and studied medicine at Tokyo University. He never practised however, giving it up to join a literary group that aimed to apply surrealist techniques to Marxist ideology.
Abe has been often compared to Franz Kafka and Alberto Moravia for his surreal, often nightmarish explorations of individuals in contemporary society and his modernist sensibilities.
He was first published as a poet in 1947 with Mumei shishu ("Poems of an unknown poet") and as a novelist the following year with Owarishi michi no shirube ni ("The Road Sign at the End of the Street"), which established his reputation. Though he did much work as an avant-garde novelist and playwright, it was not until the publication of The Woman in the Dunes in 1962 that he won widespread international acclaim.
In the 1960s, he collaborated with Japanese director Hiroshi Teshigahara in the film adaptations of The Pitfall, Woman in the Dunes, The Face of Another and The Ruined Map. In 1973, he founded an acting studio in Tokyo, where he trained performers and directed plays. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1977.
He was the son of a doctor and studied medicine at Tokyo University. He never practised however, giving it up to join a literary group that aimed to apply surrealist techniques to Marxist ideology.
Abe has been often compared to Franz Kafka and Alberto Moravia for his surreal, often nightmarish explorations of individuals in contemporary society and his modernist sensibilities.
He was first published as a poet in 1947 with Mumei shishu ("Poems of an unknown poet") and as a novelist the following year with Owarishi michi no shirube ni ("The Road Sign at the End of the Street"), which established his reputation. Though he did much work as an avant-garde novelist and playwright, it was not until the publication of The Woman in the Dunes in 1962 that he won widespread international acclaim.
In the 1960s, he collaborated with Japanese director Hiroshi Teshigahara in the film adaptations of The Pitfall, Woman in the Dunes, The Face of Another and The Ruined Map. In 1973, he founded an acting studio in Tokyo, where he trained performers and directed plays. He was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1977.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
June 7, 2022
Japoniškas Kafka trenkia per galvą
Įdomios ir artimos egzistencinės temos, čiupinėjamos p.Abės, atrodo tikras saldainis. Modernus stilius, ne pernelyg užsuktas siužetas, amžinosios problemos ir tas nepatogus subinės niežėjimo jausmas, kai skaitai ir negali nustygti vietoje, kaip Kafkos "Procesą" beryjant. Viskas atrodo taip gerai, kad turėtum sudoroti nekramtęs abu romanus per naktį!
Bet. Čia yra kažkoks stiprus "bet". Ilgai svarsčiau, kas čia negerai, kad taip sunkiai skaitosi. Seniai bebuvo, kad turėjau kovoti su knyga iki pat paskutinių puslapių, nors visi jos duomenys kuo puikiausi. Ir galiausiai taip ir neradau atsakymo, kas čia negerai. Pasilieku prie to, kad mano paties skaitymo lūkesčiai šiuo metu, matyt, yra nukreipti pozityvesnės literatūros kryptimi, o realybės kritika, pateikiama romanuose, per daug stipriai trenkia per galvą. Nevalingas noras bėgti nuo negatyvių emocijų.
Sovietai mėgo šį autorių, nes atseit kritikavo kapitalistinę santvarką (tikriausiai "Moteris smėlynuose" buvo jų akstinas). Perskaičius sakyčiau, kad lygiai taip pat alegorijas galima perkelti ir ant komunistinės santvarkos. Ko ne kolūkinis Sizifas šis pagrindinis herojus?
Internetai sufleruoja, kad Abė buvo realus kandidatas gauti literatūros Nobelį. O galimai negavo tik todėl, kad per anksti mirė. Kas čia žino, kaip būtų buvę. Bet patikrinti rekomenduoju visiems. Tik atsargiai. Kaip ir su Kafka, taip ir su juo, galima gauti stipriai per galvą ir užsikrėsti beviltiškumu, nuo kurio gydytis teks su Coelho :)
7 pakvaišę mokslininkai iš 10 galimų. Rekomenduoju visiems nebijantiems gyvenimo absurdo.
Įdomios ir artimos egzistencinės temos, čiupinėjamos p.Abės, atrodo tikras saldainis. Modernus stilius, ne pernelyg užsuktas siužetas, amžinosios problemos ir tas nepatogus subinės niežėjimo jausmas, kai skaitai ir negali nustygti vietoje, kaip Kafkos "Procesą" beryjant. Viskas atrodo taip gerai, kad turėtum sudoroti nekramtęs abu romanus per naktį!
Bet. Čia yra kažkoks stiprus "bet". Ilgai svarsčiau, kas čia negerai, kad taip sunkiai skaitosi. Seniai bebuvo, kad turėjau kovoti su knyga iki pat paskutinių puslapių, nors visi jos duomenys kuo puikiausi. Ir galiausiai taip ir neradau atsakymo, kas čia negerai. Pasilieku prie to, kad mano paties skaitymo lūkesčiai šiuo metu, matyt, yra nukreipti pozityvesnės literatūros kryptimi, o realybės kritika, pateikiama romanuose, per daug stipriai trenkia per galvą. Nevalingas noras bėgti nuo negatyvių emocijų.
Sovietai mėgo šį autorių, nes atseit kritikavo kapitalistinę santvarką (tikriausiai "Moteris smėlynuose" buvo jų akstinas). Perskaičius sakyčiau, kad lygiai taip pat alegorijas galima perkelti ir ant komunistinės santvarkos. Ko ne kolūkinis Sizifas šis pagrindinis herojus?
Internetai sufleruoja, kad Abė buvo realus kandidatas gauti literatūros Nobelį. O galimai negavo tik todėl, kad per anksti mirė. Kas čia žino, kaip būtų buvę. Bet patikrinti rekomenduoju visiems. Tik atsargiai. Kaip ir su Kafka, taip ir su juo, galima gauti stipriai per galvą ir užsikrėsti beviltiškumu, nuo kurio gydytis teks su Coelho :)
7 pakvaišę mokslininkai iš 10 galimų. Rekomenduoju visiems nebijantiems gyvenimo absurdo.
June 11, 2024
Stilinga, ryšku, gilu.
April 15, 2013
Meaning in Each Grain of Sand (2012)
Abe, Kobo. (1960-1962/1991). Woman in the Dunes. New York: Vintage.
This novel is considered by many to be Abe’s best, and a prime example of mid-century Japanese fiction. It’s difficult to determine exactly when it was first published, but it does capture the post-WWII existentialism of much philosophy, literature and art. The devastation of the two world wars had proved that history, culture, and human life itself, were all meaningless.
The opening line of the novel cues us that the characters are archetypes and the story a timeless parable. “One day in August, a man disappeared.” The man (called, “The Man”), a teacher and amateur entomologist, visits a remote seaside Japanese village to search for rare beetles. The village is built on and among shifting sand dunes, and some of the houses are located in deep pits cut into the dunes. The man misses the last bus, so a villager offers him accommodation in one of these pit houses. He climbs down a rope latter to find a decrepit shack and a thirtyish woman (called simply, “The Woman.”) She feeds him and offers a mattress. But in the morning, the ladder is gone. She has no explanation.
The rest of this short novel is about the man’s psychological coming to terms with his situation, and with the woman and the village. He is outraged and makes demands and threats, but nothing happens. He tries unsuccessfully to escape. Each night, the woman must shovel sand into buckets which the villagers above haul up on ropes. If she doesn’t do this, the pit and the house will be buried. Eventually, the man helps her shovel, resentfully at first, then gradually, out of compassion.
He asks her why she doesn’t try to escape. She can hardly understand the question. Why? This is life. Escape to what? The man is enraged at her stupidity, then gradually his anger turns to pity, and by the end of the novel, understanding. The ending is as bleak as any that can be imagined. The woman is removed for medical treatment and the rope ladder is left hanging down. The man declines to use it. In the final pages, official documents “back in civilization” are shown that mutely declare him a missing person.
I see the theme of the novel as a subtle answer to Camus’ essay, The Myth of Sisyphus (1942), which was well known in the educated world in both French and English by the 1950’s. I don’t know if Abe read Camus, or if these existential ideas were merely “in the air” at that time.
Camus argued that life is meaningless and hope is vain. He cites the ancient Greek myth of King Sisyphus, who thought he was smarter than Zeus, and for his hubris, was sentenced to forever push a great boulder up a hill, whereupon, near the top, the boulder would roll to the bottom, requiring Sisyphus to start pushing again. Thus the clever and powerful king is reduced, not to death, which would be too easy, but to an eternity of meaningless, futile effort.
Camus criticized all philosophers who try to circumvent the meaninglessness of human life, either by invoking god, heaven, or other abstract, eternal meanings and values like Platonic forms or a transcendental ego. There are no such, Camus said. Life is in fact meaningless. This is a compelling argument, considering that everyone, without exception, no matter what their accomplishments and beliefs in life, ends up as bones six feet under, or as a small pile of ashes.
Abe endorses this grim view, up to a point. The situation of being imprisoned in a pit, with no escape, sentenced to shovel every night endless sand that collapses back in on him, is clearly a Sisyphean image. The man, who at the outset believes in the meaning of his life, is perplexed that the woman has accepted this sorry fate. She would not escape if she could. Is she content? You don’t get the sense that she is content, and certainly not happy. It seems she is simply resigned to her life, as we are.
Camus argued that once you accept the meaninglessness of human life, you can be happy in your freedom from the tyranny of absolutes. Sisyphus was happy, he imagined, for that reason. But the woman does not seem happy. I think that is a subtle rejection of Camus’ thesis by Abe.
There is also a theme of political oppression in the novel. The man and the woman are exploited by the villagers above who keep them enslaved. In Japan, as in India, there is a so-called “untouchable” class of people who clean sewers, pick garbage, render meat, and so on. In a sense, the woman in the dunes is a member of that caste and seems to accept it as her natural fate. She is neither content nor discontent, merely numb. Abe could be making another rebuff to Camus: It is not that death renders life meaningless; rather, it is the economic and political oppression of society’s powerful that render it such. If that is true, it can be changed, unlike Camus’ thesis of inexorable Fate. (Abe was a Marxist).
Why then, does the man not immediately scramble out of the pit when the rope ladder is left down in the final scene? Are we to conclude that his spirit has been broken, that he has become, like the woman, so numbed by meaningless life that he has lost his will to freedom? That outcome was what Zeus intended for Sisyphus.
But there are hints throughout the novel that the man does not race out of the pit because he has found a sense of belonging there. He has made human contact with the woman in a way that he never made contact with the colleagues and family of his dystopian former life. The difference between the man of this story, and Sisyphus in his myth, is precisely the woman in the dunes.
Abe’s is ultimately a story of human salvation, not damnation. We are justified in assuming he chose to stay in the village because he found there, for the first time in his life, meaning. That is another refutation of Camus’ thesis that there is no meaning.
Finally, there is an even more subtle argument against Camus. The man does much ruminating about life while he is in the pit. One recurring theme is whether a person should always purchase a round-trip (two-way) ticket, or choose to travel only on one-way tickets. If you buy a round trip ticket, you expect to return, and you have a place to return to, and it is a good place, worth returning to. This is cowardly and unrealistic, the man decides.
He asserts, more than once, that an honest and brave person always travels on a one-way ticket, accepts whatever adventure life offers, and does not cling to the static memory of the past. He says that repeatedly, but it often seems like he is trying to convince himself.
A ticket is for a destination. You undertake a meaningful journey, to a place of interest, for whatever reason. Abe seems to be saying that meaning is found in the multiple journeys of life; you buy tickets for them. Camus said tomorrow only holds death, but Abe says, no, tomorrow might hold adventure, curiosity, excitement, a rare beetle, or even love. Death at the end, sure, but until that day, you can keep buying tickets. I think that argument gives Camus the knock-out punch. It reduces Sisyphus’s boulder to a grain of sand and finds, at that level of analysis, there is meaning.
The epigram of the novel is, “Without threat of punishment, there is no joy in flight.” Perhaps that explains the man’s reluctance to use the rope ladder in the final scene. He is no longer punished.
Abe, Kobo. (1960-1962/1991). Woman in the Dunes. New York: Vintage.
This novel is considered by many to be Abe’s best, and a prime example of mid-century Japanese fiction. It’s difficult to determine exactly when it was first published, but it does capture the post-WWII existentialism of much philosophy, literature and art. The devastation of the two world wars had proved that history, culture, and human life itself, were all meaningless.
The opening line of the novel cues us that the characters are archetypes and the story a timeless parable. “One day in August, a man disappeared.” The man (called, “The Man”), a teacher and amateur entomologist, visits a remote seaside Japanese village to search for rare beetles. The village is built on and among shifting sand dunes, and some of the houses are located in deep pits cut into the dunes. The man misses the last bus, so a villager offers him accommodation in one of these pit houses. He climbs down a rope latter to find a decrepit shack and a thirtyish woman (called simply, “The Woman.”) She feeds him and offers a mattress. But in the morning, the ladder is gone. She has no explanation.
The rest of this short novel is about the man’s psychological coming to terms with his situation, and with the woman and the village. He is outraged and makes demands and threats, but nothing happens. He tries unsuccessfully to escape. Each night, the woman must shovel sand into buckets which the villagers above haul up on ropes. If she doesn’t do this, the pit and the house will be buried. Eventually, the man helps her shovel, resentfully at first, then gradually, out of compassion.
He asks her why she doesn’t try to escape. She can hardly understand the question. Why? This is life. Escape to what? The man is enraged at her stupidity, then gradually his anger turns to pity, and by the end of the novel, understanding. The ending is as bleak as any that can be imagined. The woman is removed for medical treatment and the rope ladder is left hanging down. The man declines to use it. In the final pages, official documents “back in civilization” are shown that mutely declare him a missing person.
I see the theme of the novel as a subtle answer to Camus’ essay, The Myth of Sisyphus (1942), which was well known in the educated world in both French and English by the 1950’s. I don’t know if Abe read Camus, or if these existential ideas were merely “in the air” at that time.
Camus argued that life is meaningless and hope is vain. He cites the ancient Greek myth of King Sisyphus, who thought he was smarter than Zeus, and for his hubris, was sentenced to forever push a great boulder up a hill, whereupon, near the top, the boulder would roll to the bottom, requiring Sisyphus to start pushing again. Thus the clever and powerful king is reduced, not to death, which would be too easy, but to an eternity of meaningless, futile effort.
Camus criticized all philosophers who try to circumvent the meaninglessness of human life, either by invoking god, heaven, or other abstract, eternal meanings and values like Platonic forms or a transcendental ego. There are no such, Camus said. Life is in fact meaningless. This is a compelling argument, considering that everyone, without exception, no matter what their accomplishments and beliefs in life, ends up as bones six feet under, or as a small pile of ashes.
Abe endorses this grim view, up to a point. The situation of being imprisoned in a pit, with no escape, sentenced to shovel every night endless sand that collapses back in on him, is clearly a Sisyphean image. The man, who at the outset believes in the meaning of his life, is perplexed that the woman has accepted this sorry fate. She would not escape if she could. Is she content? You don’t get the sense that she is content, and certainly not happy. It seems she is simply resigned to her life, as we are.
Camus argued that once you accept the meaninglessness of human life, you can be happy in your freedom from the tyranny of absolutes. Sisyphus was happy, he imagined, for that reason. But the woman does not seem happy. I think that is a subtle rejection of Camus’ thesis by Abe.
There is also a theme of political oppression in the novel. The man and the woman are exploited by the villagers above who keep them enslaved. In Japan, as in India, there is a so-called “untouchable” class of people who clean sewers, pick garbage, render meat, and so on. In a sense, the woman in the dunes is a member of that caste and seems to accept it as her natural fate. She is neither content nor discontent, merely numb. Abe could be making another rebuff to Camus: It is not that death renders life meaningless; rather, it is the economic and political oppression of society’s powerful that render it such. If that is true, it can be changed, unlike Camus’ thesis of inexorable Fate. (Abe was a Marxist).
Why then, does the man not immediately scramble out of the pit when the rope ladder is left down in the final scene? Are we to conclude that his spirit has been broken, that he has become, like the woman, so numbed by meaningless life that he has lost his will to freedom? That outcome was what Zeus intended for Sisyphus.
But there are hints throughout the novel that the man does not race out of the pit because he has found a sense of belonging there. He has made human contact with the woman in a way that he never made contact with the colleagues and family of his dystopian former life. The difference between the man of this story, and Sisyphus in his myth, is precisely the woman in the dunes.
Abe’s is ultimately a story of human salvation, not damnation. We are justified in assuming he chose to stay in the village because he found there, for the first time in his life, meaning. That is another refutation of Camus’ thesis that there is no meaning.
Finally, there is an even more subtle argument against Camus. The man does much ruminating about life while he is in the pit. One recurring theme is whether a person should always purchase a round-trip (two-way) ticket, or choose to travel only on one-way tickets. If you buy a round trip ticket, you expect to return, and you have a place to return to, and it is a good place, worth returning to. This is cowardly and unrealistic, the man decides.
He asserts, more than once, that an honest and brave person always travels on a one-way ticket, accepts whatever adventure life offers, and does not cling to the static memory of the past. He says that repeatedly, but it often seems like he is trying to convince himself.
A ticket is for a destination. You undertake a meaningful journey, to a place of interest, for whatever reason. Abe seems to be saying that meaning is found in the multiple journeys of life; you buy tickets for them. Camus said tomorrow only holds death, but Abe says, no, tomorrow might hold adventure, curiosity, excitement, a rare beetle, or even love. Death at the end, sure, but until that day, you can keep buying tickets. I think that argument gives Camus the knock-out punch. It reduces Sisyphus’s boulder to a grain of sand and finds, at that level of analysis, there is meaning.
The epigram of the novel is, “Without threat of punishment, there is no joy in flight.” Perhaps that explains the man’s reluctance to use the rope ladder in the final scene. He is no longer punished.
January 29, 2013
This, like all of Kobo Abe's novel's, is a real treat. Are you shovelling to live, or living to shovel?
April 29, 2018
Класичний приклад синтезу літератури і принципу Східної філософії «задовольнятися малим». Одного разу чоловік вирішує поповнити свою колекцію комах, бере з цією метою відпустку, але навкруги не видно нічого, крім піску і «жінки в пісках», у якої неясно що на душі і серці.
Коли ми обговорювали цю книгу, хтось з дівчат написав, що відчай переріс у покору, а покора – у пізнання себе. Можливо, однак мені завжди було цікаво, чому він залишився там, у пісках. Для мене ця книга стала літературним відображенням східно-філософського підходу щодо п’яти стадій, яку я ніколи серйозно не сприймала, але і заперечити не можу.
Тобто, якщо на пальцях, то перша стадія у чоловіків – потяг. З героєм книги так само, про розумові здібності жінки він був невисокої думки. Для жінки найважливіше – інтелект, тому героїню підкупив дивний, але розумний і ерудований головний герой. Друга стадія зближення – невизначеність, коли людина може відчути, що більше «не тягне», звідси сумніви і душевні метання. Наступна – бажання бути єдиним або єдиною (тут не про шлюб, а стан, коли не хочеться більше ні з ким спілкуватися). Четверта стадія – це стадія душевної близькості, остання стадія – це заручини. В ідеалі, виходячи з теорії п’яти стадій, кохання остаточно визначається і підтверджується, як не парадоксально, саме на останній стадії.
Однак у цій книзі ніхто нікого насправді не любить і це сумно.
Коли ми обговорювали цю книгу, хтось з дівчат написав, що відчай переріс у покору, а покора – у пізнання себе. Можливо, однак мені завжди було цікаво, чому він залишився там, у пісках. Для мене ця книга стала літературним відображенням східно-філософського підходу щодо п’яти стадій, яку я ніколи серйозно не сприймала, але і заперечити не можу.
Тобто, якщо на пальцях, то перша стадія у чоловіків – потяг. З героєм книги так само, про розумові здібності жінки він був невисокої думки. Для жінки найважливіше – інтелект, тому героїню підкупив дивний, але розумний і ерудований головний герой. Друга стадія зближення – невизначеність, коли людина може відчути, що більше «не тягне», звідси сумніви і душевні метання. Наступна – бажання бути єдиним або єдиною (тут не про шлюб, а стан, коли не хочеться більше ні з ким спілкуватися). Четверта стадія – це стадія душевної близькості, остання стадія – це заручини. В ідеалі, виходячи з теорії п’яти стадій, кохання остаточно визначається і підтверджується, як не парадоксально, саме на останній стадії.
Однак у цій книзі ніхто нікого насправді не любить і це сумно.
December 6, 2017
Both stories are unique stories. Hard to read but worth it.
March 20, 2020
Iki šiol galvoju, ar supratau šią knygą.. Perskaičius galvoje liko daugiau klaustukų nei aiškumo. Istorija „Moteris smėlynuose“ yra apie smėlį, nuolat esantį aplink, limpantį prie kūno, girgždantį dantyse. O šalia smėlio yra moteris, kuri yra susitaikiusi su esama padėtimi, visiškai nesipriešinanti. Bet pagrindinis veikėjas nuolat apie ją galvoja. Man tai istorija apie žmogaus norą išlaisvėti, apie žmogaus suvaržymą ir suvokimą, kad niekas nepasikeis, kad ir ką darysime, apie tai, kad esant tokioje padėtyje laikas vis tiek eina ir eina per greitai, apie tai, kad tu esi ir greitai tavęs nebelieka. Tas žmogaus uždarymas man primena sovietmečio laiką, kai žmogus turi taikytis prie esamos padėties, tačiau vis dar nesuprantu moters vaidmens – ar jis ją pamilo? Ką moteris simbolizuoja šioje istorijoje?
„Svetimas veidas“ – istorija apie žmogų, kuris bandymo metu nudega veidą, todėl ima gamintis kaukę. Tai istorija apie žmogų, kuris ima galvoti tik apie save, susvetimėja su aplinkiniais, nutolsta nuo jų. Kartu tai istorija apie visus mus, nes mes visi turime daugybę kaukių: su vienais žmonėmis esame vienokie, su kitais – kitokie. Žmogus pasimeta ir nebežino, kas jis yra iš tiesų. Pamiršta artimuosius, mato tik save.
„Svetimas veidas“ – istorija apie žmogų, kuris bandymo metu nudega veidą, todėl ima gamintis kaukę. Tai istorija apie žmogų, kuris ima galvoti tik apie save, susvetimėja su aplinkiniais, nutolsta nuo jų. Kartu tai istorija apie visus mus, nes mes visi turime daugybę kaukių: su vienais žmonėmis esame vienokie, su kitais – kitokie. Žmogus pasimeta ir nebežino, kas jis yra iš tiesų. Pamiršta artimuosius, mato tik save.
November 20, 2016
Abi istorijos yra originalios, bet man labiausiai įstrigo susierzinimo jausmas. Yra įdomių minčių, bet jos pasimeta žodžių klampynėse. Kaip Kaukė paskandina Veidą, o Smėlis Namus, taip daugžodžiavimas ir sukimas ratais atitraukė dėmesį nuo to, kas svarbu. Daugiau Kobo Abės darbų į rankas neimsiu. Nesakau, kad jis būtų blogas autorius (atrodo, visiems, su kuo kalbėjausi, jo rašymas patiko), sakau, kad jis man nepatinka :-/
January 7, 2025
a literary classic for a reason; a short, powerful, deeply-dark experience (spoilers ahead)
Sand acts as much of a character, if not more, than most others in this book. It's constantly given motion, fluidity, and a sense of life; the narrator remarks on those plants and creatures who live within sand and dunes, who inhabit deserts and beaches, in defiance of the stark conditions often given by those living outside of sand. However, this fierce vitality appears at odds with humanity. Much of Abe's depiction of the dunes is a life-stripping entity, constantly pushing against our protagonist as a ceaselessly rising tide, threatening to drown him unless forced into backbreaking labour in an elderly village by the sea where there is no life, no hope, no dreams. Sand constantly coats the characters stuck in the dune-pit, where they must repeatedly scrub themselves clean, are always reminded of its irritancies, who cannot even eat without taking into consideration grains of sand falling into their meagre meals. Sand consumes the world itself.
It is this depiction of sand as an entity which fuels the overarching metaphor of the novel. A basic interpretation of sand, a creeping force that individuals are forced into repelling, can be equated to that of society as a whole, particularly Japanese society post-WW2. From this, Abe's background as growing up in the wake of Japan's ultra-conservative society, first having pushed the country into a horrific murder-suicide of a war, then, with that conservative streak still largely intact, being part of a generation pushed to rebuild a country from the ground up is stark and apparent. The omnipresent sand compares to societal pressure, where dreams, optimism, & hope are pushed aside in favour of constantly shoveling sand before it can further rot the foundations of the protagonist's "home"; a crumbling ruin viewed more as a prison than a place of comfort. The village's elderly composition reflects the geriatric domination of Japan's culture both past and present, with patriarchal demands and attitudes reflected on the eponymous woman in the dunes (who is not even named), and of whom even the protagonist is downright cruel to for the majority of the novel for no real reason at all.
Yet, by the novel's conclusion, the protagonist accepts his fate, appearing to acquiesce into a 'new' existence. His end can be noted from the very first page - missing, now assumed dead - as failure after failure of escapes, coping mechanisms, petty defiance are all rotted away into nothingness. The constant pressure applied to the youth by a decaying society reduces all aspiration in return for servitude toward an impossible goal. There's much to be learnt from this, and this interpretation serves as a warning against the obvious societal stagnation that conservatism creates. As this was much the truth in post-war Japan, it is also the truth of much of the world today, wherein the youth are sacrificed to appease a dying society, whose whims will eventually rot the world whole.
Sand acts as much of a character, if not more, than most others in this book. It's constantly given motion, fluidity, and a sense of life; the narrator remarks on those plants and creatures who live within sand and dunes, who inhabit deserts and beaches, in defiance of the stark conditions often given by those living outside of sand. However, this fierce vitality appears at odds with humanity. Much of Abe's depiction of the dunes is a life-stripping entity, constantly pushing against our protagonist as a ceaselessly rising tide, threatening to drown him unless forced into backbreaking labour in an elderly village by the sea where there is no life, no hope, no dreams. Sand constantly coats the characters stuck in the dune-pit, where they must repeatedly scrub themselves clean, are always reminded of its irritancies, who cannot even eat without taking into consideration grains of sand falling into their meagre meals. Sand consumes the world itself.
It is this depiction of sand as an entity which fuels the overarching metaphor of the novel. A basic interpretation of sand, a creeping force that individuals are forced into repelling, can be equated to that of society as a whole, particularly Japanese society post-WW2. From this, Abe's background as growing up in the wake of Japan's ultra-conservative society, first having pushed the country into a horrific murder-suicide of a war, then, with that conservative streak still largely intact, being part of a generation pushed to rebuild a country from the ground up is stark and apparent. The omnipresent sand compares to societal pressure, where dreams, optimism, & hope are pushed aside in favour of constantly shoveling sand before it can further rot the foundations of the protagonist's "home"; a crumbling ruin viewed more as a prison than a place of comfort. The village's elderly composition reflects the geriatric domination of Japan's culture both past and present, with patriarchal demands and attitudes reflected on the eponymous woman in the dunes (who is not even named), and of whom even the protagonist is downright cruel to for the majority of the novel for no real reason at all.
Yet, by the novel's conclusion, the protagonist accepts his fate, appearing to acquiesce into a 'new' existence. His end can be noted from the very first page - missing, now assumed dead - as failure after failure of escapes, coping mechanisms, petty defiance are all rotted away into nothingness. The constant pressure applied to the youth by a decaying society reduces all aspiration in return for servitude toward an impossible goal. There's much to be learnt from this, and this interpretation serves as a warning against the obvious societal stagnation that conservatism creates. As this was much the truth in post-war Japan, it is also the truth of much of the world today, wherein the youth are sacrificed to appease a dying society, whose whims will eventually rot the world whole.
July 27, 2023
Це книжка про життя і шлях чоловіка, про його стосунки з жінкою, і купа метафор..
Обожнюю Кобо Абе саме за його стиль письма, його метафори це окреме задоволення. Він ніби просто описує природу чи будь-що інше причому не нудно і це така картинка-прелюдія, яка починає рухатись, і в якийсь момент вона розвертається іншою стороною і бам, я розумію що це була метафора щодо певного питання в книжці. Інтелектуальний оргазм.
Кожна книжка Кобо це ніби дослідження океану, і цікаве, захопливе і страшне і неприємне але безсумнівно це насолода.
«Пісок – це сукупність дрібних часток кам’яних скель такого розміру, що їхнє переміщення стає можливим від найменшого подуву вітру»…
«Пісок завжди перебуває в русі»
Обожнюю Кобо Абе саме за його стиль письма, його метафори це окреме задоволення. Він ніби просто описує природу чи будь-що інше причому не нудно і це така картинка-прелюдія, яка починає рухатись, і в якийсь момент вона розвертається іншою стороною і бам, я розумію що це була метафора щодо певного питання в книжці. Інтелектуальний оргазм.
Кожна книжка Кобо це ніби дослідження океану, і цікаве, захопливе і страшне і неприємне але безсумнівно це насолода.
«Пісок – це сукупність дрібних часток кам’яних скель такого розміру, що їхнє переміщення стає можливим від найменшого подуву вітру»…
«Пісок завжди перебуває в русі»
Read
July 28, 2023impossible to put in a box (yet). it has effectively burrowed itself into my brain and is now actively haunting me, which it def gets points for. i wonder if this might have been a lolita-like reading experience for me (ie my first impression was limited and skewed negative bc of how upsetting the book is & i’ll need to reread it at least once so that i can push past the emotional response it produces and better process the book itself, not just what it does to me)? but currently, i am feeling like this book contains too many unadapted regurgitations of the ideas of better authors + is unproductively repetitive and predictable (two things existentialist texts often do productively). anyways - i disliked this book; i do genuinely look forward to rereading it; i can’t rate it until i do.
January 30, 2021
A teacher gets trapped in a sandy hole
A woman lives in a house in the hole, where she spends her life digging up the sand, to protect a nearby village from being covered in dunes
She takes him in
He wants to leave
He tries to escape
But he cannot
And she won't let him
Or maybe it's not her
Maybe he doesn't really want to leave
Even though he tells himself he does.
This is
Both completely implausible as a story
And an allegory for pretty much whatever the reader wants
Making it entirely unrealistic
And, at the same time, very, very real
A woman lives in a house in the hole, where she spends her life digging up the sand, to protect a nearby village from being covered in dunes
She takes him in
He wants to leave
He tries to escape
But he cannot
And she won't let him
Or maybe it's not her
Maybe he doesn't really want to leave
Even though he tells himself he does.
This is
Both completely implausible as a story
And an allegory for pretty much whatever the reader wants
Making it entirely unrealistic
And, at the same time, very, very real
March 29, 2024
Man jau vispār "sabiedrības noreducēšana līdz pamatelementiem" ir mīļš žanrs, un šajā gadījumā tā tikusi noreducēta uz gandrīz pašu vienkāršāku līmeni: vīrieti un sievieti (nosacītā) izolētībā.
Prasmīgi apraksta varoņa garīgos stāvokļos (pārsteigumu – frustrāciju – izmisumu – cīņas sparu u.tml.), ar šo izolētību saskaroties, un visapkārt esošās un visu pārklājošās smiltis arī aprakstītas tik sajūtami, ka brīžiem pat neomulīgi paliek.
Tik filosofiskās pārdomas grāmatā vietām vai nu par paredzamu, vai par tukšu.
Prasmīgi apraksta varoņa garīgos stāvokļos (pārsteigumu – frustrāciju – izmisumu – cīņas sparu u.tml.), ar šo izolētību saskaroties, un visapkārt esošās un visu pārklājošās smiltis arī aprakstītas tik sajūtami, ka brīžiem pat neomulīgi paliek.
Tik filosofiskās pārdomas grāmatā vietām vai nu par paredzamu, vai par tukšu.
June 11, 2021
A grain of sand is a small, unassuming thing, hardly worth notice. But overtime these grains pile and grow. It gets on your skin and in your teeth, cuts your skin and saps your strength. You can try to fight it and dig your way out but new grains, carried by the wind, fill your progress. The laws of the world often don't align with our own, we are often pulled and pushed by forces behind our control. In the face of such unforgiving obstacles how should we respond.
March 8, 2023
A very strange journey. Not sure what genrer this would be but it gives off a magical realism, sureal, kafkaesque vibe. The story follows the protaganists journey to get away from a village in a hole desert and his companionship with a woman from that village. Really great use of language and metaphores to paint a picture of both the environment and the characters emotions, as well as purposeful confusion to make the reader question what is actually happening.
April 10, 2024
"Moteris smėlynuose" paliko gerą įspūdį. Tas nuolatinis "nieko nevyksta, bet visados vyksta" tekėjimas, melancholija, kapstymasis smėlyje ir savyje (nelyg smėlyje?). Toks, matyt, ir yra tas mūsų gyvenimas - byra tarp pirštų kol galiausiai nebelieka nieko...
P.S. "Svetimas veidas" pasirodė blankesnis. O gal tiesiog dar nebuvau iki jo priaugusi?
P.P.S. Knygą skaičiau prieš kelis dešimtmečius.
P.S. "Svetimas veidas" pasirodė blankesnis. O gal tiesiog dar nebuvau iki jo priaugusi?
P.P.S. Knygą skaičiau prieš kelis dešimtmečius.
September 16, 2020
Every person (certainly if you are American) should read this book. This one is a splendid jewel set amidst sand and human passion, sexual yes, perhaps, but more so emotional passion, the passion of the individual (or its antithesis.)
July 6, 2022
This was actually quite a decent read learned a lot about #sand it is definitely an existential crisis of a tale which in these times resonates with a reader who is in a dead end job and just suffering due to circumstances beyond ones control sadly though there wasn't really a happy ending
February 20, 2023
I appreciate the sentiment of this but I didn't enjoy reading it. Just a personal thing, found the style dry and confusing and I didn't care about any of the characters. I got to the last 15 pages and didn't care to find out what happened oops
December 14, 2017
Shikata ga nai (仕方が無い)
July 15, 2022
moteris smėlynuose>svetimas veidas
December 19, 2022
When he frowned, his father, the sun, stood still.
January 23, 2023
VILE imagery overshadows the message
Read
October 27, 2015Difficult to rate this. This book is starkly written in a minimalist style, and the story develops primarily via the interior monologue of a man who has been taken prisoner and forced to work in a sand pit. A modern Sisyphus myth, rather more dystopic than the classic tale, its protagonist is primarily a self-absorbed individual, who evolves very little over the length of the narrative, despite his proclivity for inductive reasoning. It is actually a meta-dialogue of sorts, because a discourse is occurring on the merits of knowing anything based on either deductive or inductive reasoning, and whether or not meaning can be derived from anything. Lots of navel gazing, folks, with occasional interesting asides on the merit of writing. If everything can be reduced to nothing of ultimate meaning, why bother writing at all? So, our friend, trapped in a sandpit with a woman about whom he fantasizes about raping and other forms of copulation, and upon whom he ultimately forces himself in the hopes of getting a few hours outside of his cell, is a miserable little creature, who captured after his attempted escape, doesn't bother with another bid for freedom, not even when it is handed to him. Well!! SO THERE!! I FINISHED it!! Think I'll go and reward myself with a sentimental, romantic novel like The Cancer Ward, or light reading like some Dostoevsky!! Now, if I could just find my hair shirt! I'm sure it's here somewhere.....
December 29, 2012
This was a very dystopian novel. It is very modern and embraces a shikata ga nai philosophy. (I had a Japanese culture class and this was one of the books we had to read)
February 1, 2014
2 самых сильных романа в одной книге!
April 20, 2014
"Женщина в песках" роман с философией, но с депрессивным уклоном. Читая это произведение не раз ощущала песок под зубами или во сне. Однако, книга была достойна потраченного времени.
April 4, 2015
Quite interesting. An interesting window to common family dynamic.
April 18, 2017
"The face of another" is a strong book. I really love it inspite of so many thoughts and "too many letters"!
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