The Face of Another
The Face of Another by Kobo Abe is a classic of postwar Japanese literature published by Penguin in 2006. This 256-page work presents a chilling narrative centered on a scientist who, after a laboratory accident, becomes hideously deformed and loses his connection to the world around him. Stripped of his identity and repulsed even by his wife, he embarks on a quest to create a perfect mask that allows him to re-enter society, only to discover that this mask becomes an alternate self with its own dark implications.
Readers will find a profound exploration of themes such as identity and the social contract within this intellectual horror story. The narrative delves into the duplicities of human nature and the lengths one might go to reclaim a sense of belonging. As the protagonist grapples with his transformation, the book raises questions about the essence of self and the facades people maintain in their interactions. This edition is presented in English, making it accessible to a wider audience interested in literary fiction and critical reflections on human existence.
Official synopsis Publisher
Like an elegantly chilling postscript to The Metamorphosis,” this classic of postwar Japanese literature describes a bizarre physical transformation that exposes the duplicities of an entire world. The narrator is a scientist hideously deformed in a laboratory accident-a man who has lost his face and, with it, his connection to other people. Even his wife is now repulsed by him.
His only entry back into the world is to create a mask so perfect as to be undetectable. But soon he finds that such a mask is more than a disguise: it is an alternate self-a self that is capable of anything. A remorseless meditation on nature, identity and the social contract,” The Face of Another is an intellectual horror story of the highest order.
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