About “The Face of Another”

The Face of Another is a 1964 novel by Japanese author Kōbō Abe. The story is told through a first-person narrative and includes a prologue, three "notebooks," and a final letter from the protagonist's wife. The novel examines the alienation of individuals in modern urban society, a theme common in Abe's work. In 1966, the book was adapted into a film directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara. (Summary adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.)

Praise for “The Face of Another”

“A fascinating book.... The world of Kobo Abe is one in which intellectual concepts have the emotional impact and motivating power of psychotic compulsions.”

— Newsweek

“A major novel... Since The Woman in the Dunes, Kobo Abe's stock as a novelist has been very high. The Face of Another raises it still more.”

— The Christian Science Monitor

“Probes the edges of a waking nightmare....The central, shaping metaphor of face and facelessness is brilliant, and Abe's relentless pursuit of its every implication is powerful.”

— The Saturday Review

Book details

Latest edition
2003 · ISBN 9780375726538
ISBN
9780375726538

Frequently asked questions

How many pages is The Face of Another?

The Face of Another by Abe Kōbō has 256 pages.

More by Abe Kōbō

  1. Cover of The Woman in the Dunes
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Some summaries adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Book descriptions, author biographies, award records and review quotes on this page are courtesy of Penguin Random House.