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The Ark Sakura
Series: Japanese Classics
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Check link for latest rating. ( 1,974 ratings, 179 reviews)
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Format: Paperback / softback
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The Ark Sakura
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
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Description
New in Penguin Japanese Classics - a surreal work of apocalyptic science fiction.
Introducing Penguin Japanese Classics - a collection of some of Japan's most celebrated and ground-breaking 20th-century writers, with covers inspired by Japanese art and design. Taking us from a sun-drenched affair in a seaside town to an underground 'ark' full of shadows and eccentrics, with stops at mountains of skulls, lonely apartments, and boarding school dormitories, this series is perfect for new and long-time readers of Japanese literature.
A recluse known as 'Mole' retreats to a vast underground bunker, only to find that strange guests, booby traps, and a giant toilet may prove even greater obstacles than nuclear disaster. A science-fiction classic from acclaimed Japanese novelist Kobo Abe, The Ark Sakura's Kafkaesque embrace of nuclear disaster and ecological catastrophe is at turns both hilarious and desperate.
One of Japan's most venerated writers - David Mitchell
Translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter
Series: Japanese Classics
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The Ark Sakura
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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
The Ark Sakura is a notable work by Kobo Abe, delving into themes of modern isolation and existential threats like ecological destruction and nuclear war, painted through the lives of outcasts. It skillfully blends humour with a subtle, chilling tension about looming global challenges. The narrative, reminiscent of Poe and Kafka's influence, draws readers in with a compelling momentum that keeps them engaged.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780241675304
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 02 November 2023
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Penguin Classics
Contributors:
- Translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 30.0mm
Width: 128.0mm
Height: 196.0mm
Weight: 240g
Pages: 336
About the Author
Kobo Abe was born in Tokyo in 1924, grew up in Manchuria, and returned to Japan in his early twenties. Before his death in 1993, Abe was considered his country's foremost living novelist. His novels have earned many literary awards and prizes, and have all been bestsellers in Japan. They include The Woman in the Dunes, The Ark Sakura, The Face of Another, The Box Man and The Ruined Map. Juliet Winters Carpenter is an award-winning translator of Japanese writing. She has translated dozens of works, including fiction, poetry and philosophy, as well as three novels by Kobo Abe.
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The Box Man
The Box Man by Kobo Abe is an existential and entertaining masterpiece. "This is the record of a box man." The streets of Tokyo have been seeing a strange phenomenon recentlyβpeople who have decided to live their lives in a box on the street. Behind their cut-out eyeholes, they sit and watch from behind their four cardboard walls. Our nameless...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Ruined Map
The Ruined Map is a hardboiled detective story that combines the narrative suspense of Chandler with the psychological suspense of Dostoevsky. Mr Nemuro, a respected salesman, disappeared over half a year ago, but only now does his alluring yet alcoholic wife hire a private eye. The nameless detective has but two clues: a photo and a matchbook. With these, he...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Woman in the Dunes
New to Penguin Modern Classics One of the premier Japanese novels in the twentieth century, The Woman in the Dunes combines the essence of myth, suspense, and the existential novel. In a remote seaside village, Niki Jumpei, a teacher and amateur entomologist, is held captive with a young woman at the bottom of a vast sand pit where they are...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
The Ark Sakura
A surreal work of science fiction from one of Japan's most brilliant novelists. In anticipation of a coming nuclear apocalypse, Mole has converted a huge underground quarry into an ark. While searching for his crew, he falls for the tricks of a wily insect dealer and his friends. In the surreal drama that ensues, the ark is invaded by first...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips today -
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