The Ark Sakura - Paperback

by Kobo Abe (Author)

A classic from the renowned Japanese novelist about isolation and the threat of a nuclear holocaust, The Ark Sakura is as timely today as it was at its original publication.

In this Kafkaesque allegorical fantasy, Mole has converted a huge underground quarry into an "ark" capable of surviving the coming nuclear holocaust and is now in search of his crew. He falls victim, however, to the wiles of a con man-cum-insect dealer. In the surreal drama that ensues, the ark is invaded by a gang of youths and a sinister group of elderly people called the Broom Brigade, led by Mole's odious father, while Mole becomes trapped in the ark's central piece of equipment, a giant toilet powerful enough to flush almost anything, including chopped-up humans, out to sea.

Author Biography

Kobo Abe (1924-1993) was one of the most acclaimed Japanese authors of the 20th century. His works include The Woman in the Dunes, Kangaroo Notebook, The Face of Another, The Box Man, The Ruined Map, Secret Rendezous, Inter Ice Age 4, and several others. He was awarded the Tanizaki, Akutagawa, and Yomiuri Prizes.