Kōbō Abe Criticism

Kōbō Abe, a leading figure in postwar Japanese literature, is renowned for his avant-garde exploration of identity, alienation, and existentialism. His work is often compared to that of Franz Kafka due to its surreal and symbolic nature, with critics like Kōbō Abe: Japan's Kafka highlighting these connections. Unlike much of traditional Japanese literature, Abe's narratives tackle universal themes, drawing both international acclaim and sparking critical debates about his placement within Japanese literary traditions. His collection of short stories, praised in reviews such as the Review of Beyond the Curve, encapsulates his unique style of blending Kafkaesque elements with modern existential concerns.

Contents

  • Principal Works
  • Abé, Kōbō (Vol. 8)
  • Abé, Kōbō (Vol. 22)
    • Novels from Abroad: 'The Woman in the Dunes'
    • Life Is a Sandpit
    • Internationally Japanese
    • Books: 'Inter Ice Age 4'
    • Something Fishy
    • Eastern Promise
    • In Search of Identity: Abé Kōbō and Ōe Kenzaburō
    • Levels of Sexuality in the Novels of Kobo Abe
    • Japanese Logic and Illogic
    • Brief Review: 'Secret Rendezvous'
    • Through Fantasies to Faith
  • Abe, Kobo (Short Story Criticism)
    • Kōbō Abe: Japan's Kafka
    • Review of Beyond the Curve
    • Abe Kōbō's Early Short Fiction
    • Sand and Tendrils
    • Fact and Fuikkushion
    • Beyond the Curve: Kobo Abe Short Stories
    • Kobo Abe: Japan's Novelist of Alienation
  • Abé, Kōbō (Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism)
    • Review of The Ark Sakura
    • Self, Place, and Body in The Woman in the Dunes: A Comparative Study of the Novel and the Film
    • Kōbō Abé: Japan's Novelist of Alienation
    • The Plays of Kōbō Abé: An Introduction
    • Review of Three Plays
    • Review of Three Plays
    • Review of Kangaroo Notebook
  • Further Reading