[THE WOMAN IN THE DUNES / FIRST RUSSIAN TRANSLATION] Женщина в песках - Чужое лицо / Zhenshchina v peskakh - Chuzhoye litso [i.e., Suna no onna = The woman in the dunes]. Translated by Vladimir Sergeevich Grivnin. Designed by Vladimir Sergeevich Grivnin

ABE, KOBO (1924-1993).

Izdatel’stvo Khudozhestvennaya Literatura”, Moscow, 1969.

Original wrappers. Cr. 8vo. (19,5 x 13 cm). In Russian. 364, [4] p., b/w ills. by Grivnin. One of 50000 copies. Wrappers are slightly chipped at the extremities, with a tiny tear at the top left corner. Otherwise, a very good copy.

The first Russian translation of one of Kobo Abe’s most acclaimed novels, published as part of the “Important Novels of the 20th Century” series. This edition translated by Vladimir Sergeevich Grivnin features a stunning cover design and illustrations by the renowned Russian artist and theatre designer Rafael Adolfovich Volsky. The original Japanese text was first published in Tokyo in 1962 and won the prestigious Yomiuri Prize in the same year. Later it was adapted into a film directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara in 1964, and the novel was also published in English in 1964.

Rafael Adolfovich Volsky (1938-2007), the illustrator of this work, was a prolific artist who illustrated more than 40 children’s books and numerous translations for the same publishing house that published this edition. Volsky graduated with a gold medal in 1957 from the Moscow Art School at the Moscow State Art Institute named after V. I. Surikov of the USSR Academy of Arts (now the Moscow Central Art School at the Russian Academy of Arts). In 1962, he completed his studies at the Moscow Printing Institute (now the Ivan Fedorov Moscow State University of Printing Arts). Over a career spanning more than four decades, Volsky worked in book graphics for esteemed publishing houses such as “Malysh,” and “Khudozhestvennaya Literatura.” He illustrated over 150 books for children and adults, leaving a significant mark on Russian book art.

In collaboration with his brother, production designer Viktor Volsky, Rafael Volsky designed over 100 opera, ballet, and drama performances in theatres across Moscow, St. Petersburg, Vilnius, Tallinn, Minsk, Baku, Munich, Verona, Paris, Athens, Budapest, Sofia, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. He debuted at the Bolshoi Theatre in 1979 as a costume designer for the play Julius Caesar by G. F. Handel. In 1982, he was invited by Boris Pokrovsky to contribute to the Chamber Music Theatre.

Vladimir Sergeevich Grivnin (1923-2014) was a famous Russian literary scholar, translator, and professor at the Institute of Asian and African Studies. In 1999, he was awarded the “Illuminator” prize by the editors of Foreign Literature magazine for his outstanding achievements in the translation and study of foreign literature. The award recognized his work on the collected works of Kobo Abe in four volumes, which he translated and edited for the publishing house Simposium.