I am reading "the Woman in the Dunes" by Kobo Abe. It is by far the best book I have ever read to explain life.If ever there was an alien philosopher trying to understand human life I would put it on its list of "must read".
The story is totally irrelevant but if you are curious here it is: A teacher goes on an insect collecting holiday to a small village by the ocean. When he gets there he discovers that the beach dunes are advancing through the village and trying to engulf it. As a way to keep their village the locals put a lot of work into digging the sand around their houses and this results in some houses finding themselves at the bottom of deep steep-sided holes in the sand. When the teacher asks for a place to stay in the village he is sent to the house of a woman who lives alone and find himself trapped there.
It doesn't sound very good from the way I describe it, but it is a short book, if you get the chance and are at all curious about how some people perceive the absurdity/triviality of life and human nature I recommend it. It is a fascinating little book.
