The NARRATOR, A SCIENTIST who has been terribly disfigured in a laboratory accident, is a man who has lost his face and, along with it, his connection to other people. Afraid that his worsening facial wounds will be revealed, he wraps his head in bandages, but realizes that his mummified appearance repulses others. Even his wife now looks down on him.

His only way back to the world of humans is to create a mask so perfect that it goes unnoticed. However, he soon realizes that such a mask is more than just a simple disguise that hides his wounds: it is another self – a self capable of anything. Following the narrative through the diary and notes of the central character, The Face of Another is a terrifying, Kafkaesque, relentless exploration of nature, identity, transformation, and social ostracism.

In The Face of Another, Abe undertakes a relentless investigation of the face not only at the level of plot but also at the level of the form that shapes the plot, as if trying to tear apart the skin of the face and its expressions. The writing attempts to convey the hero's mental disturbance and his muddled thoughts.

In this harsh and captivating novel, we see the old, eternal question of identity. Who is the real self and what does it reveal? Does the mask hide the old identity, or does it create a new one? A modern version in its way of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Face of Another has achieved uninterrupted success since its publication.