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A review by justinkhchen
The Box Man by Kōbō Abe
2.0
2.5 stars
I'm usually down 'out-there' novels that explore the boundary of written word storytelling, but I might have found my boundary with The Box Man; the reading experience was like watching an arthouse film — where you know you should be moved and impressed, but instead you find yourself disengaged and completely at loss.
Perhaps I simply wasn't in the mood for a stream of consciousness narrative — where provocative vignettes remain broken, circling in its own loop, and never build towards a coherent whole.
There are still foundational elements I thoroughly enjoy: the formation of the Box Man is extremely well-realized, and the discussion on being the observer, vs. being observed, is very intriguing. I even appreciate the fragmented narration, up to a point. Oh, and there are some beautiful prose to be found here.
I'm usually down 'out-there' novels that explore the boundary of written word storytelling, but I might have found my boundary with The Box Man; the reading experience was like watching an arthouse film — where you know you should be moved and impressed, but instead you find yourself disengaged and completely at loss.
Perhaps I simply wasn't in the mood for a stream of consciousness narrative — where provocative vignettes remain broken, circling in its own loop, and never build towards a coherent whole.
There are still foundational elements I thoroughly enjoy: the formation of the Box Man is extremely well-realized, and the discussion on being the observer, vs. being observed, is very intriguing. I even appreciate the fragmented narration, up to a point. Oh, and there are some beautiful prose to be found here.