Kobo Abe's highly abstract work has been described in The New York Times as "haunting visions of people senselessly trapped by modern urban life"; it has also been widely interpreted as allegory of post-World War II Japan, “a society shattered by its defeat in the war and torn from its roots”. But whether we ascribe explicit and specific social commentary to all of the stories in Beyond the Curve or not, the collection has universal meaning, profound aesthetic impact, and intrinsic value.
As they encounter lost identities, failing memory, emotional devastation, and catastrophic weather, and even death, characters in Beyond the Curve must all undertake the same task: to make sense of...
