{"product_id":"kangaroo-notebook-9780679746638","title":"Kangaroo Notebook","description":"In the last novel written before his death in 1993, one of Japan's most distinguished novelists proffered a surreal vision of Japanese society that manages to be simultaneously fearful and jarringly funny. The narrator of \u003cb\u003eKangaroo Notebook\u003c\/b\u003e wakes on morning to discover that his legs are growing radish sprouts, an ailment that repulses his doctor but provides the patient with the unusual ability to snack on himself. In short order, Kobo Abe's unraveling protagonist finds himself hurtling in a hospital bed to the very shores of hell. Abe has assembled a cast of oddities into a coherent novel, one imbued with unexpected meaning. Translated from the Japanese by Maryellen Toman Mori.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eKobo Abe\u003c\/b\u003e was born in Tokyo in 1924 and grew up in Mukden, Manchuria, during World War II. In 1948 he received a medical degree from Tokyo Imperial University, but he never practiced medicine. Considered one of Japan's foremost novelists, his most famous works include \u003ci\u003eThe Face of Another\u003c\/i\u003e (1964), \u003ci\u003eThe Box Man\u003c\/i\u003e (1973), \u003ci\u003eSecret Rendezvous\u003c\/i\u003e (1977), and \u003ci\u003eThe Ark Sakura\u003c\/i\u003e (1984). All of Abe's books have been bestsellers in Japan and he was the recipient of numerous literary awards and prizes, including the Yomiuri Prize for \u003ci\u003eThe Woman in the Dunes\u003c\/i\u003e in 1962. He collaborated with director Hiroshi Teshigahara on film adaptations of four of his novels--including \u003ci\u003eThe Woman in the Dunes\u003c\/i\u003e--and was also widely known as a dramatist. He died in 1993.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Vintage","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50648867504402,"sku":"9780679746638","price":11.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_94e2db79-7cfb-483f-8577-a612e9263238.jpg?v=1733251320","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/kangaroo-notebook-9780679746638","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}