The Box Man
Unpredictable
Predictable
Dry

The Box Man

Kobo Abe2020
'A spellbinder from beginning to end, an edgy masterpiece' Chicago Sun Times 'This is the record of a box man'. Anonymous and alone, the box man peeps out of his cut-out eyeholes and watches the world from behind his four cardboard walls. At first repulsed by the strange phenomenon of people who have decided to abandon society and live in boxes on the Tokyo streets, he has found himself drawn into the anonymity and voyeurism of their life. As he becomes obsessed with spying on a young nurse, his identity slips away, in Kobo Abe's eerie, disorienting and seductive masterpiece of unease. 'Funny, sad and destructive ... an invention with its own crazy pull, it gnaws at the reader ... a stunning addition to the literature of eccentricity' The New York Times
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Photo of Ian Mason
Ian Mason@thedimpause
3.5 stars
Jul 21, 2024
Photo of Angus Bretherick
Angus Bretherick@angoisse
4.5 stars
Sep 27, 2023
Dizzying
Surprising
Avant-garde
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Juan Sacco@catsup_plate
3 stars
Apr 12, 2022
Photo of Amber Rozan Lubbers
Amber Rozan Lubbers@roozamber
3.5 stars
Apr 8, 2022
Dry
Gruesome
Paradoxical
Predictable
Unpredictable
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Elena Kuran@elenakatherine
3 stars
Feb 7, 2024
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so@softer
3 stars
Jan 29, 2024
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Miles Luke@fchwpo
3 stars
Dec 18, 2023
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andi valdes@anderinavalerina
2 stars
Mar 17, 2023
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Harry@kleptwo
4 stars
Nov 14, 2022
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Francis Kin@delfuegos
3 stars
Aug 12, 2022
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Finn Salter@finnsalter
5 stars
Aug 11, 2022
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Angelo Zinna@angelozinna
3 stars
Jan 28, 2022
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Joshua Line@fictionjunky
4 stars
Sep 30, 2021