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| Plot Summary of The Woman in the Dunes |
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"A big-city schoolteacher on a trip to the dunes of Japan's Southwest to collect insects is taken in by a village and given room at a young widow's place, which is located in a huge pit in the local desert. The next day, he discovers the truth behind the villagers' kindness: he's been taken captive to help the woman in the shoveling and collection of sand to sell to industries as well as prevent landslides. Angry at this, he attempts several ways to escape the pit, but each time the wicked villagers thwart him. Resigned to living with the widow, he falls for her - although he cannot help but wonder if her lonely, boring lifestyle is forced or willingly accepted... Will he devise a better means of escape? Or will he stay with her and provide her help - and companionship - for life? Either way, what would the meaning in all this be for his life?
This book is short in plot and to the point (of course, there isn't much else to do with such a setting), but each scene inspires us to think about how differences in people are sometimes repressed by society, and the way some will go to keep the status quo. This book was also made into a successful movie."
Sergio Mendoza, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Woman in the Dunes |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of story
- 1930's-1950's
Romance/Romance Problems
Yes
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Exploring into the wild
Yes
kind of story
- struggle to get home
Lover is
- an historical enemy
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- teacher
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Japanese
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Female
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- homemaker
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- throughout most of the book.
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 9 ()
Asia/Pacific
Yes
Asian country:
- Japan
Desert?
Yes
Desert:
- dying of thirst, sunburn
Small town?
Yes
Small town people:
- hostile, like Gomer Pyle on steroids
- sinister, like an X-Files Gomer Pyle
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
- impregnation/reproduction
Amount of dialog
- little dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
Kobo Abe Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Colin Kehm
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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