Reviews

The Face of Another by Kōbō Abe

yongene's review

4.0

horror by way of society. kōbō abe not only could foresee our impending reliance on faces, outlooks and image, but the horror and pain that would amount from all of it. i will not lie and say that some philosophical musings went over my head and some merely did nothing but perplex me even more than i already had been with abe's kafkaesque backdrops and visualisations, but they all amount to this jaw-dropping finale which could make even the most absent-minded person dwell on the philosophy of abe's strange world of minds and faces; blending in and out of society and penetrating the psychological with all of its might.

lauren_elizabeth's review

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

sarumi's review

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

belinda_palamara's review

3.0

This book had some interesting ideas about identity, the face we show the world and the masks we hide behind. I have to admit I found this book a bit of a struggle to get through, as some parts were repetitive. I feel that this would have worked better as a short story, but it is still worth a read.

gerda_the_chaotic_reader's review

5.0

Taigi, mes visi esame vienas kitam svetimi, dėvime kaukę, be kurios visuomenėje nė vienas neišgyventume. O jei netyčia ta kaukė trumpam dingsta, darome viską, kad tik vėl ją atrastume. Taigi, esame niekas be to, ką mumyse mato kiti.

boithorn's review

5.0

Great blend of Gothic horror tropes and existentialist thought, highly recommended for those interested in literary horror

friedegger's review against another edition

3.0

The Face of Another is an intriguing novel- the ideas and characterisation are rich, but the pacing and language is such that it feels like one is reading the work through a glass darkly, one or two steps removed from the immediacy of the narrative. It's difficult to say whether this is the fault of the writer or the translator.

The core theme: the mask as the other, through which the protagonist is transformed, is a gripping notion and it's exploration here is more existential than, say, the exploration of the fake beard in Huxley's Antic Hay. A closer reading (re-reading?) would have been ideal to draw out all the implications Abe intended.

ginpomelo's review

challenging dark mysterious slow-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0