Reviews

Το πρόσωπο του άλλου by Kōbō Abe

jay__book's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

3.5

james1234's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.0

joshuavrysen's review against another edition

5.0

fantastic.

so many decent reviews, I won't leave one that would be less adequate.

but definitely, as has already been mentioned, watching the film along with reading the book is highly recommended. Since Abe and Teshigahara worked together closely, the movie is much more of a companion piece, than just an adaptation.

mihye's review against another edition

challenging dark slow-paced

2.75

maurits's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

1.0

I am probably not literate enough to understand the depth of talking about the mask. To me, the book reads like a severely mentally ill person in a hell of his own making. Reading it was like reading the ravings of a madman. It pretends to have logic in it, but there is none to be detected. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Injury/Injury detail, and Body horror

Minor: Sexual assault, Racism, Incest, Suicide, and Sexual content

sfletcher26's review against another edition

3.0

This will not go down as one of my favourite reads as it was, to be honest, very hard going. This is in part a stylistic thing (in that it's a very introspective piece) and that I couldn't really relate to the main protagonist.
That said there were a number of interesting elements to the story not the least of which is the question of what defines personality and therefore behaviour.
Not as good as The Woman in the Dunes but then few books are.

bobsamson's review against another edition

challenging slow-paced

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

1.0

jadejoosten's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.75

ricebucket's review against another edition

slow-paced

2.0

yongbene's review against another edition

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.