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{{Short description|1964 novel by Kobo Abe}}
{{About|the novel|the film|The Face of Another (film)}}
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox book
| name = ''The Face of Another''
| image = File:The_Face_of_Another.jpg
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| author = [[Kōbō Abe]]
| title_orig = 他人の顔<br>Tanin no kao
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| translator = [[E. Dale Saunders]]
| illustrator = Robert Steele Wallace [US ed.]
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| country = [[Japan]]
| language = Japanese
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| publisher = [[Kodansha]]
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| pub_date = 1964
| english_pub_date = 1966
| published =
| media_type = Print
| pages = 387 [Japanese ed.]
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}}

{{nihongo|'''''The Face of Another'''''|他人の顔|Tanin no kao|lead=yes}} is a [[1964 in literature|1964]] novel written by the Japanese novelist [[Kōbō Abe]]. Like other stories written by this author, the novel explores the [[Social alienation|alienation]] of modern man from urban society.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Historical Dictionary of Postwar Japan, 2nd edition|last=Hoover|first=William|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2019|isbn=9781538111550|location=Lanham, MD|pages=11}}</ref> It is written in the [[Narration#First-person|first person narrative mode]], and is divided into a prologue, three "notebooks" (black, gray, and white), and a concluding letter from the protagonist's wife.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Abe |first=Kobo |url=http://archive.org/details/faceofanother00abek |title=The face of another |date=1980 |publisher=New York : Perigee Books |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-399-50484-6}}</ref> In 1966, it was adapted into [[The Face of Another (film)|a film]] directed by [[Hiroshi Teshigahara]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Teshigahara |first=Hiroshi |title=Tanin no kao |date=1967-06-09 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061065/ |type=Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi |publisher=Teshigahara Productions, Tokyo Eiga Co Ltd. |access-date=2022-04-17}}</ref>

==Synopsis==
An industrial accident has severely burned the face of an unnamed plastics scientist. His wife is repulsed by his disfigurement and refuses to have sexual contact with him. In an effort to regain the affection of his wife, he attempts to create a [[Prosthetic makeup|prosthetic]] mask in a rented apartment. With this new "face," the protagonist sees the world in a new way and begins a clandestine affair with his estranged wife. Although the mask gives the man newfound freedom, at the end of the story, it becomes difficult to determine if the mask has taken ownership of the man or the man has taken ownership of the face.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Rush |first=Zachariah |title=Beyond the Screenplay: A Dialectical Approach to Dramaturgy |publisher=McFarland |year=2014 |isbn=9780786466030 |location=Jefferson, NC |pages=59}}</ref>

There is also a subplot following a ''[[hibakusha]]'' woman who has suffered burns to the right side of her face. In the novel, the protagonist sees this character in a film; in the film version, this is deliberately obscured.

==Reception==
An anonymous reviewer at ''[[Kirkus Reviews]]'' writes: "Abe's symbolic pantomime is not extroverted; in fact it is very ingrown; but it toys with images and ideas in a fascinating fashion, even while at the expense of both the reader's patience and sensibility."<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/kobo-abe/face-another/ |title=THE FACE OF ANOTHER {{!}} Kirkus Reviews |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
* ''[[La Belle Image (novel)|La Belle Image]]'' by [[Marcel Aymé]], a novel with a similar premise

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://archive.org/details/faceofanother00abek/mode/2up ''The Face of Another''] at the [[Internet Archive]]

{{Kōbō Abe}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Face Of Another}}
[[Category:1964 Japanese novels]]
[[Category:Novels by Kōbō Abe]]
[[Category:Japanese novels adapted into films]]

The Face of Another - Revision history

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