Riddle me this…… why is it that Kafka is praised for having a continuous theme of ‘alienation and anxiety in a bizarre, hostile, and dehumanized world’ (taken right from the introduction by Kafka-aficionado Jason Baker) but Art Alexaksis of Everclear is constantly derided for never giving up the theme of his parent’s divorce and family instability in his suburban American life? Really, who is more pigeonholed and obsessed with a single theme; a guy who puts a few 3-minute, 3-chord, hastily-writt...

My first date with F. Kafka and his gothic tales was in my school years. The impression, it gave me, is the same - a negative and pessimistic picture of the world: black color gives the tone for almost everything and if there is a ray of hope, it is short-lived, because it is swallowed by the dark night. Despair rules the stories, because everything seems pointless. The thing that surprised me at first is that it is really simple to read Kafka’s stories. There aren’t any long and boring descript...

The Metamorphosis isn't an iconic piece of literature for nothing. It certainly takes multiple readings and reviewings and much discussion.I tell you what doesn't: In the Penal Colony. Guys and gals, this is gore. Gore like Chuck Palahniuk has only dreamt about.So. There you have it. The reason why Kafka was the greatest writer of them all.

Besides having been adopted by classics lovers, this book sits squarely in the Weird Fiction genre. I think of it as a branch that is European, usually continental, early twentieth century, and a sub-genre. Other constituent members of its class include The Other Side of the Mountain and The House on the Borderland. Characteristics of this genre is that it is written in very tight third person perspective on one individual to whom something impossible happens. Either the individual goes on a jou...

I suspect interpreting Kafka says more about the reader than the author so here's some insight into my psyche:Gregor's family are losers. Gregor takes over the "bread winner" position after his father's business fails and provides enough money for the family to live as well as help to pay down the large debt his father's business incurred. The rest of them are fine to let him and sit on their asses. Gregor's father is perfectly healthy, but is happy to mooch too. Then, we find out that his fathe...

I’ll never forget that winter night at Christmas break when I read this one, during the transition phase into high school senior year.What struck me Most the first read-through was the image of the pitched Apple that had pierced and penetrated into the soft, gooey underbelly of this hapless giant caterpillar.That was so me, back then, in 1967! An outsider at school, my soft belly was routinely pierced by the fierce verbal slurs of the more outgoing members of the collegiate in-crowd. I formed no...

It's totally kafkaesque (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gpAVa6...)I would have given this collection 5 stars based on "The Metamorphosis" alone. The rest of the pages could have been filled with grocery lists, recipes, driving directions, what have you, I would still have given it 5 stars. But the thing is, there are so many other stellar stories in this collection, five stars seems like an insult. "The Judgement" astounded me; "A Hunger Artist" captivated me; "In the Penal Colony" sickened me.

Do not, under any circumstances, believe any of the introductions to Kafka books especially if they tell you that there is no point of trying to interpret, read into, or analyze Kafka's writing, and that it just is; read it for its poetic prose and for the beauty of the stories... BULLSHIT!!!If you have any sense at all, you will read Kafka, and you will read into the stories, you will come up with hidden messages, and you will see the politics and sociology in it, and it will mess up with your

Maybe could be titled Metaphor. When one starts to bug one's parents, it's time to move out.

In addition to a short biography and timeline of the author's life, this collection contains an Introduction by Jason Baker, a translator's afterword by Donna Freed, Endnotes, notes on works inspired by Kafka, Comments/Questions, and Suggestions for Further Reading, as well as the following stories: A Message from the Emperor - 3/5 - There is an interesting piece in the Atlantic Monthly that describes how this very short parable can be used to define the term "Kafkaesque" (read it here: https://...

Weird... to say the least. Kafka certainly is an enigma! His short stories are sometimes short and sometimes almost a novella! However, one thing remains constant irrespective of the length and that is the indifference - the storyteller does not care whether a reader would 'mind that' or not; he just goes on exploring the inner layers of human personalities and that's what helps Kafka stand out!

I didn’t want to like Kafka. When I first heard of him, I classified him as one of those writers people like so they can have some self-validation about their intelligence, like an association with college professors of something. I decided to try Kafka after a Breaking Bad episode entitled “Kafkaesque.” A humorous moment in the episode shows one of the main characters, a recovering meth addict and dealer, talking in a street-slang vernacular and saying something to his partner like, “You wouldn...

Strange, incredibly well written stories. The characters are all helpless to the events happening around and to them and thus are rendered observers to their mostly unfortunate fates, as much as they are subjects. Through them, we go step by step immersed in their own sense of helplessness and alienation.The prose is incredible and concise, filled with clear and rich descriptions so that whether it is pain, fear or even disgust, we're transported to these inescapable situations and left marvelli...

I plan to finish Kafka's complete shorts (and Amerika) eventually, but I have to read this guy slowly, no more than one or two stories a day, because he gets overwhelming otherwise. I don't know if it's possible to say anything new about these shadowy parables on human loneliness, but they're some of the most profound and powerful fiction ever set to paper. Kafka's protagonists gaze into the abyss and sometimes cower in terror but other times laugh, and for as petty and as spiteful as they often...

Okay, I guess the first thing that I should mention is that I didn't actually read the "other stories", mainly because those other stories were not attached to my nookbook version of this short novel. Of course, I selected the wrong version of this work from the 10,000,000 options that Goodreads provided and now it's just too complicated to change editions so . . . on to my review.I have this obsessive need to write a review on everything I read. Not because I think anyone really cares, but beca...

Well, let's just say I much prefer Kafka's short fiction - I connected with this a lot more than with The Trial. Now that I've read a bit more of his writing, I really feel that people over-analyse Kafka: they read meaning and metaphor and parable in everything. To me, The Metamorphosis reads like a straightforward account of a fantastical situation. This is simply a writer who gets pleasure out of imagination and exploration. He asks the question, "I wonder what would happen if one day I woke u...

This made me feel uncomfortable in a number of ways, not least because I seriously identified with a man-sized insect. Kafka's prose here is very spartan and descriptive, devoid of metaphor, and the effect is to show the horrifying events of the novella in unflinchingly crisp detail. I would rate the book higher but to be honest it just didn't affect me in that many ways, nor do I anticipate that it will stay with me for a significant length of time. The only story I can think to compare it to i...

Wow, what an incredible selection of satirical, philosophical and existential stories by Franz Kafka. Unbelievable insight into the human condition, with great humour and philosophical depth. This is certainly due a re-read, each year. Genius writing and even more genius imagination. Quite possibly the greatest short story collection you'll ever read.

Kafka is mindblowing. I wish I could have met him. In this collection is a story titled 'In the Penal Colony' - one of the most horrific tales I've ever read. I salute your spirit, Mr. Kafka!

I have had to read this for my degree in Creative writing and English, and all I can say is that it made me feel uncomfortable and cringe. The stories are dark, strange, extremely graphic/ explicit and difficult to digest. This is not something that I will be reading again, although I can see why some may find Kafka's writing to be revolutionary for the modern age. They're certainly original and 'different', although how far you take things is up to you as a reader. I read 'Metamorphosis', 'in t...