# The Ruined Map

Canonical: https://www.bookquiver.com/kobo-abe/the-ruined-map/9780241454602

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![The Ruined Map](https://quivercdn.com/covers/penguin-classics/kobo-abe/the-ruined-map_978-02-4145-460-2.jpg?v=2026-04-24%2019%3A31%3A44)

- Book: [The Ruined Map](https://www.bookquiver.com/kobo-abe/the-ruined-map) ([The Ruined Map.md](https://www.bookquiver.com/kobo-abe/the-ruined-map.md))
- Authors: [Kōbō Abe](https://www.bookquiver.com/kobo-abe)
- Publisher: Penguin Classics
- ISBN: 978-02-4145-460-2
- Pages: 240
- Published: 2020-10-29
- Language: en_GB
- Binding: Softcover

## Description

Mr Nemuro, a respected salesman, disappeared over half a year ago, but only now does his alluring yet alcoholic wife hire a private eye. The nameless detective has but two clues: a photo and a matchbook. With these, he embarks upon an ever-more-puzzling pursuit that leads him into the depths of Tokyo's dangerous underworld, where he begins to lose the boundaries of his own identity. Surreal, fast-paced and hauntingly dreamlike, Abe's masterly novel delves into the unknowable mysteries of the human mind.