“But sometimes, though rarely, some men go out never to return.” #theruinedmap

Back in 2024, I read the classic book “The Woman in the Dunes” by Kōbō Abe for Japanese Literature Month and was very taken with it, if a little unnerved by the claustrophobic atmosphere of the story. At the time, I thought I’d like to explore his writing but I’ve somehow never got to any of his other books. However, a comment on a recent post by Tony about Abe’s work mentioned “The Ruined City” and when I did a bit of searching it appeared that a new and shiny Penguin Modern Classics version was available (albeit in an older translation by E. Dale Saunders). Needless to say, a copy arrived at the Ramblings hot on the heels of “Kafkaesque” and bypassed the TBR in much the same way! At first glance, “Ruined…” appears to be a detective novel, pitched as noir. A Mr. Nemuro disappeared six months ago; a respected salesman, there’s no obvious reason why he should do a runner, but it *has* taken his wife a while to call in a private eye. This is our unnamed narrator, and from the start he’s…