The Face of Another
Kobo Abe is a famous Japanese prose writer and playwright. The scope of his talent is vast; his books are mysterious, captivating, and paradoxical. These peculiar allegorical novels tell stories of people under the power of obsessive ideas or caught in situations resembling fantastic dreams. The protagonist of the novel "The Face of Another" is forced, following an unfortunate accident, to create a new face-mask for himself, shielding against contact with the outside world. However, by changing his face, he feels his personality changing as well. The mask not only envelops its wearer in a certain mystery but also provokes new, sometimes very strange desires...