Ethan Manning
Very odd book. You are truly in the head of a person, there are no illusions, delusions aplenty, but pride or decency are left well behind by our narrator. And the conditions draw some harsh inhumane things out of him. I think about the story and how it is about work, being stripped of agency, and relying on other individuals to help you eat or continue to live, masters and also "partners". How much do you fight the injustice of your plight as a worker bee, what would you sacrifice to get closer to escape from the cycle? There is an interplay between wanting to walk away and also resigning oneself to the cyclical patterns of work that trap us 52 weeks a year. Be prepared to hear about sand, sand in your hair, on your clothes in your mouth, and some very evocative writing about being thirsty.
I would read Kobo Abe again.
Very odd book. You are truly in the head of a person, there are no illusions, delusions aplenty, but pride or decency are left well behind by our narrator. And the conditions draw some harsh inhumane things out of him. I think about the story and how it is about work, being stripped of agency, and relying on other individuals to help you eat or continue to live, masters and also "partners". How much do you fight the injustice of your plight as a worker bee, what would you sacrifice to get closer to escape from the cycle? There is an interplay between wanting to walk away and also resigning oneself to the cyclical patterns of work that trap us 52 weeks a year. Be prepared to hear about sand, sand in your hair, on your clothes in your mouth, and some very evocative writing about being thirsty.
I would read Kobo Abe again.