{"product_id":"the-traitor-kb-abe-9780231212946","title":"The Traitor","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn postwar Japan, a writer meets a small-town innkeeper who is obsessed with a tale from the nineteenth century. He relates the saga of Enomoto Takeaki, an admiral in the final years of the Tokugawa shogunate who regained authority under the Meiji government. A former member of imperial Japan's military police, the innkeeper dwells on the question of loyalty even as he struggles with his responsibility for the arrest and murder of his brother-in-law during the war. Later, he sends the writer a mysterious manuscript purporting to be the account of a peddler turned samurai whom Enomoto betrayed. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003ePart historical fiction, part detective story, \u003ci\u003eThe Traitor\u003c\/i\u003e is a remarkable novel about navigating changing political landscapes by one of the most significant modern Japanese writers. In his only historical novel, Abe Kōbō turns to a pivotal moment in Japan's past to explore profound questions about the nature of loyalty and the choices that people must make when they encounter forces beyond their control or understanding. Published in 1964, when a new generation had begun asking their parents about the war, Abe's tale of betrayal sparked controversy across the political spectrum. The great writer's most important previously untranslated novel, \u003ci\u003eThe Traitor \u003c\/i\u003edisplays Abe's literary mastery from a new angle.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Kōbō Abe\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0231212941\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780231212946\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Columbia University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 03\/31\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 384\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover","brand":"K\u0026#333;b\u0026#333; Abe","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48114082349311,"sku":"9780231212946","price":105.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_5231087e-1fbb-4a6b-805b-bc983e6e8f2b.jpg?v=1769619000","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-traitor-kb-abe-9780231212946","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}