A disconcertingly funny book . . . both original and edgily entertaining, The New York Times Book ReviewVivid and spooky, Kirkus ReviewsOriginal and edgily entertaining. It confirms Abe as the best Japanese novelist (along with Shusaku Endo) since the deaths of Yukio Mishima and Yasunari Kawabata., The New York Times Biografía del autor 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 philosphy, as well as three novels by Kobo Abe.