Customer Reviews

The Basic Kafka

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If you are, then this book is the perfect introduction. For those of you (like me) whose short-story tastes were formed reading stories based on action-filled plots and scantily-clad women, or at least stunning climaxes (i.e., "The Lottery", "The Necklace", "Witness for the Prosecution") then all I can say is, expand your mind a little and read these stories. If they have any theme at all, it's alienation. Beyond that, it's every man, woman, and unknown creature for him, her, or itself. To this day I think about the protaganist in "The Burrow" and still wonder "what the *hell* was going on?" Kafka exposes the sick, malformed, diseased and twisted through his characters and situations, and by doing so (hopefully) helps purge the same in ourselves.

Introduced to Kafka by a news section comparing American Military Tribunals for Afghani POW's to Kafka's work "the trial", provoked me to pick up a copy of The basic Kafka from the local library's annual book sale. Realizing that this book didn't have the story "the trial." I put it down for a few months, eventually picking it up again and reading the most enjoyable short stories I have ever read.

The highlights of this book are "The metamorpheses", "Josephine the Singer", and "The Hunger Artist" all of which contain a strong social statements in an almost surreal setting. The influence of existentialist thought on Kafka's writings, anyone interested in the application of existentialism on literature would be wise to begin here. Concise stories that are just as interesting as thought provoking.

There are also diary entries and letters for those who wish to delve into Kafka's personal life. I just skimmed through this section, but it was apparent he was a mysterious and intelligent man. This book is recommended to anyone whether their interest in modern schools of thought are high or not. Even if the stories dont exhibit a strong social messag, the stories themselves are interesting enough to carry you through this introductory book with ease.

Kafka has exerted tremendous influence on a great many writers and communities of writers around the world. Although most of his writing comes from a 10-year span of his life just before he died, the impact of that writing on literature, cinema and many other elements of our culture can't be denied.

He embodies a complex writer whom you'll either love or you'll hate. I picked up my copy of this edition back in 1990, and have kept it a part of my essential library ever since.

I'm well aware there are better translations, better editions, etc. out there from a Kafka scholar's perspective.

But for my purposes it's more than adequate as an encapsulation of the man's writings. This may be pure sentimentality on my part of course.

For anyone who wants to read more than the old standbys of the Metamorphosis and the Trial, and to see some great examples of Kafka's total work, this volume is a wonderful gateway.

Its size is particularly useful for travelers and the very sorts of people who might populate Kafka's world.

In particular, I rather like Poseidon.

This edition gets a very positive recommendation for first-time Kafka readers, and even those who have a little more experience with him.

seeing as how i do not know german and thus haven't read kafka in the original language of his literature, i found no glaring problems with this translation. however, a friend who speaks german natively commented when reading through several of the stories that the translation used in this book seems to be way off, and produces a nonsensical depiction of kafka's writing. i'm not sure if this is the most widely used translation, but it's worth it, perhaps, to also find an edition that has been translated by someone else if you're going to read this book, or even better if you have the german text and can compare the two versions.

secondly, the author (erich heller) of the introduction is completely obnoxious (i know that's quite a subjective judgment). in some areas of the intro he produces incredibly insightful textual interpretation, yet at other times he tries so hard to make his analysis esoteric and postmodern that he ceases to clearly communicate anything at all to the reader (me!). perhaps if i were inside his brain i would know what he is alluding to in these completely obtuse explications, however i'm not, and he doesn't do much work in an attempt to bring his reader to the point of his realization, throughout much of the intro.

but of course, aside from the translation and the i'm-trying-too-hard-to-be-pomo author of the introduction, kafka's writing is incredible.

oh, p.s. - it seems to be missing a few important pieces of kafka's work that should have been included into this book since i don't believe they're all that long: "investigations of a dog", and "in the penal colony" are not included, perhaps amongst other appropriate additions.

Some surrealism, some aphorism. It's an interesting collection of the mostly-unpublished-at-the-time-of-his-death Franz Kafka. The first page informs the reader that Kafka wished for all his unpublished writings to be destroyed upon his death. I think this is a good idea to begin with when reading stories from this book. I'd never read Kafka before, but I really liked "The Metamorphosis" and "Letter to His Father," as well as "The Coming of the Messiah," "The Emperor," and "The Tiger." I wish I could say exactly why I like these stories. Maybe it's because they make for interesting discussions. In "The Metamorphosis," for example, I felt like Gregor's metamorphosis into an insect was an unconscious breakdown caused by the strain of his role in his family. Am I correct? No way to know... it's open for discussion. I'm glad, though, that all these thoughts and stories were saved.

Kafka is a one-of-a-kind genius. He has the innate ability to convey the deepest metaphors so subtly. "The Metamorphosis" is the most mind-blowing short story I've ever read. A meek, unhappy young man who is under pressure to support his entire family wakes up one morning to find himself changed into a giant insect. There is a kind of dark humor that only Jewish writers are able to convey; however, Kafka did not consider himself religious.

If you do one thing before you die, it should be reading this book - study it if you have to. It's an astonishing work, and we should all be grateful that his friend didn't honor his dying wish, which was to burn all of his writing.

Simply without parallel, this book is filled with amazing stories, parables, philosophy, and other thoughts. Of particular interest is the way in which he makes you think about how much we don't see the modern world for what it is: in his day, the industrial revolution was forever changing the "civilized" way of life, and beginning our unconscious enslavement to fat-cat corporations.

Read. This. Book.

what else can one say about kafka....? Well lots i suppose. The book itself is handy and very good.

I picked this up solely for the diverse spectrum of Kafka's writings that it covers, and it's really a pretty darn good sampling of the authors works. Most of the other reviewers have covered the book well, but there are a few important points I would like to stress with this:

The translation is not the outdated, biased, Willa & Edwin Muir translation. They were the original translators of Kafka into English, and were somewhat inclined to pigeonhole his works into their interpretation. I haven't had any qualms with the works as they are in here.

But I would recommend skipping Erich Heller's introduction if you haven't already read a lot of work on or by Kafka. Don't let this spoil the beauty of being able to feel out your own interpretation of the author as you read him. In fact, avoid all criticism and interpretation until you're looking specifically for something like that.

I would highly recommend, though, if you're looking for some perspective on what to consider when reading and interpreting this, the book (several different titles for several different publishers) Kafka/Introducing Kafka/R. Crumb's Kafka, a graphic-novel sort of history of Kafka and his work by Robert Crumb(!!) and David Zane Mairowitz. It's excellent and gives a fair perspective on the Kafka and his social/historical/psychological context.

This is not as advertised the most comprehensive selection of Kafka's writings ever published. But it is a very good selection , and includes some of the most important of the shorter work, the stories, the parables, the diary entries. The uncanny power of Kafka's writing is present line- by - line. And with this power is that tremendous suggestibility which seems to lend his work open to so many different kinds of interpretation.
One travels with Kafka very often into a strange world which resembles our own and may even provide at times a much deeper perspective of our own than we ordinarily have, but almost always too leaves us with a feeling of irresolution, of enigma, of what is often a terrifying beauty and strangeness .
Reading these samples one comes into contact with one of mankind's great literary geniuses. One can be grateful for this while at the same time understanding, that this particular genius, does not make our lives or our understanding of the world, any easier.

Kafka is the most complex writer ive ever read, i enjoyed reading this book.it has exerts from metamorphisis and josephine the singer and short stories, parables and exerpts from his diaries, it is very interesting