The Woman in the Dunes by Kōbō Abe. Short summary

5 seconds

A man is trapped in a shack at the bottom of a sand pit with a lonely woman. Attempts to escape are unsuccessful. Gradually he humbles himself and even develops feelings for the woman. And even when the opportunity to leave arises, he is in no hurry.

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In the summer, an amateur entomologist travels to the desert in search of new insects for his collection. Suddenly he finds himself at a strange village where houses stand in sand pits. The man asks to spend the night and is put up in a shack with a lonely woman. The house is buried in sand and must be constantly shoveled away. The woman works day and night. The man does not understand the meaning of such a life and tries to leave. But the ladder he climbed down has disappeared.

The man finds himself trapped in a pit. He makes many attempts to escape, but to no avail. Gradually, he develops feelings for the woman and comes to terms with his fate. The man works as hard as the woman and tries to fix up the house.

Together, they make it through the winter. A receiver even appears in the house, but the man is no longer very interested in outside life. The woman ends up in the hospital with a miscarriage and the man has a chance to leave, but he is in no hurry. After seven years, the man is reported missing and soon declared dead.