kobo abe (1924-1993) was a japanese writer and photographer whose modernist style and tendency toward representations of entrapment is both reminiscent of that of franz kafka (1883-1924) and distinctly japanese in character. after spending his childhood in manchuria, abe returned to his native japan, where he studied but never practiced medicine, and instead used his time in academic circles to expose himself to the writing of edgar allen poe (1809-1849), fydor dostoevsky (1821-1881), friedrich nietzsche (1844-1900), and edmund husserl (1859-1938). the new york times has referred to abe's writing as "disquieting and original", and vice.com describes the mood of his work as disorienting and yet familiar, like the writer is "squeezing humanity from a bear trap".