The Woman in the Dunes

For the film adaptation of this novel, see Woman in the Dunes. For the Steven Severin album, see The Woman in the Dunes (Steven Severin album).

Cover of the first Japanese edition by Yasuo Kazuki

The Woman in the Dunes (Japanese: 砂の女, Hepburn: Suna no Onna, lit. "Sand Woman") is a novel by the Japanese writer Kōbō Abe, published in 1962. It won the 1962 Yomiuri Prize for literature, and an English translation by E. Dale Saunders, and a film adaptation, directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara, appeared in 1964.

The novel is intended as a commentary on the claustrophobic and limiting nature of existence, as well as a critique of certain aspects of Japanese social behavior.[1] The story is preceded by the aphorism "Without the threat of punishment there is no joy in flight."[2]

  1. ^ Allinson, Gary D. (1999). The Columbia guide to modern Japanese history. Internet Archive. New York : Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-11144-7.
  2. ^ Abe, Kobo (1972). The woman in the dunes. Internet Archive. New York, Vintage Books. ISBN 978-0-394-71814-9.