“Do you shovel to survive, or survive to shovel?”

Kōbō Abe

“The barrenness of sand, as it is usually pictured, was not caused by simple dryness, but apparently was due to the ceaseless movement that made it inhospitable to all living things. What a difference ...”

Kōbō Abe

“He wanted to believe that his own lack of movement had stopped all movement in the world, the way a hibernating frog abolishes winter.”

Kōbō Abe

“When a castaway collapses from hunger and thirst it is fear of physical want rather than a real want, they say. Defeat begins with the fear that one has lost.”

Kōbō Abe

“More than iron doors, more than walls, it is the tiny peephole that really makes the prisoner feel locked in.”

Kōbō Abe