“The more you struggle, the more new passages you make in the labyrinth, the more the box is like another layer of outer skin that grows from the body, and the inner arrangement is made more and more complex.”
On this episode, hosts John Cribbs & Christopher Funderburg climb into a corrugated cardboard nightmare and explore Kobo Abe’s delightfully bizarre The Box Man. Best known for his work with Hiroshi Teshigahara on the film adaptation of his novels (including The Face of Another and Woman in the Dunes), Abe was one of the most brilliant and original novelists of the 20th century.
The conversation covers the book’s elliptical, elusive, free-flowing structure and evasive narrative truth, whether Abe is unfairly overlooked due to his association with Teshigahara, and where the book fits into the history of literature (in the context of Abe’s aggressive rejection of Japanese culture). Listen as Funderburg, a total Abe novice, discovers a new favorite author and Cribbs offers suggestions on how to approach Abe’s intimidating oeuvre.
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Intro music: Unleash the Bastards / “Tea for Two”
Outro music: Marcus Pinn / “Vegas”