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(★)(Translated by E. Dale Saunders)(Titulo original : 第四間氷期 [Dai Yon Kanpyoo-ki]／ ´Inter Ice Age 4,´ written in 1958 and set far in the future, is one of Kobo Abe´s most radical works, employing the devices of science fiction to project his prescient moral concerns about private versus corporate destiny.／ The polar ice caps have begun to melt, threatening to submerge the continents and destroy their inhabitants. A secret and illegal group of scientists have begun work on a daring plan to save terrestrial life through the use of controlled biological mutation on animals and --even more daringly-- the human fetus. The ultimate goal is the creation of an underwater nation that will survive the destruction of Japan by a tidal wave. Dr. Katsumi, the protagonist, is drawn into this conspiracy against his will, through his own creation of an advanced information system. Forced to choose between desire for the survival of the human race and horror of the ruthless and manipulative means necessary for this end, his choices and actions are further clouded by the discovery that his own wife and unborn child are involved and at risk.／ ◆Kobo Abe [1924-1993] was born in Tokyo but grew up in Mukden, Manchuria. As a young man he was interested in mathematics and insect collecting, as well as the works of Poe, Dostoevski, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Jaspers, and Kafka. Though he received a medical degree from Tokyo University in 1948, he never practiced medicine and instead published his first book,´The Road Sign at the End of the Street,´ in that same year. He was awarded the prestigious Akutagawa Prize in 1951 for his novel ´The Crime of Mr. S. Karuma,´ and in 1960 won the Yomiuri Prize for his novel ´The Woman in the Dunes,´ the film version of which won the jury prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1963. He continued his involvement in the theater world and directed his own theater company in Tokyo, producing many avant-garde works such as ´Friends´ [1967] and ´The Suitcase´ [1973].) |
BASE de DATOS, Biblioteca del Centro Cultural de la Embajada de Japon
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