No other writer of German-language literature in the 20th century has been as fully accepted into the canon of world literature as Franz Kafka. The unsettlingly, enigmatically surreal world depicted in Kafka's novels and stories continues to fascinate readers and critics of each new generation, who in turn continue to find new readings. One thing has become wholly clear: although all theories attempt to appropriate Kafka, there is no one key to his work. The challenge to critics has been to present a strong point of view while taking account of previous Kafka research, a challenge that has been met by the contributors to this volume. The essays follow an introduction by the editor, and include: Clayton Koelb on the controversial question of Kafka editions; Walter H. Sokel on a life of reading--and writing about--Kafka; Judith Ryan on the early stories; Russell A. Berman on tradition and betrayal in `The Judgment'; Ritchie Robertson on anti-Christian elements in `The Judgment,' `The Metamorphosis,' and the aphorisms; Henry Sussman on Kafka's evolving aesthetics; Stanley Corngold on The Trial; Bianca Theisen on Kafka's use of circus motifs in the stories `Up in the Gallery' and `First Sorrow'; Rolf J. Goebel on the connection of Kafka's The Missing Person, `In the Penal Colony,' and `The Great Wall of China' to postcolonial critique; Richard T. Gray on the semiotics and aesthetics of `In the Penal Colony'; Ruth V. Gross on the `enigmatics' of the short fiction; Sander L. Gilman on Kafka's Jewishness and the story `The Country Doctor'; John Zilcosky on the colonial visions in The Castle; Mark Harman on the variants to The Castle and what they tell us about Kafka's writing process; and Clayton Koelb on Kafka's rhetoric in the late stories `Josephine the Singer' and `The Burrow.'James Rolleston is Professor of German at Duke University and has written widely on topics in modern German literature.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
Contains new material and insights by noted scholars whose work represents a full range of methodological and thematic diversity. CHOICE Appropriately reflects the ever-widening circles within which Kafka's texts can be viewed. Especially prominent ... are the discussions of texts as meta-narratives, their thematizations of problematic message transfer, and their meditations on unbridgeable misconception. MODERN AUSTRIAN LITERATURE This is a particularly successful collection,... several of whose individual studies will undoubtedly become touchstones of future Kafka research. GERMAN STUDIES REVIEW ...this collection is necessary for any student of Kafka. The voices represented here, from the seasoned ... to the newly emerging, speak to the wide methodological range that typifies Kafka studies....The effect of these essays is cumulative, at times revelatory. GERMAN QUARTERLY
About the Author
James Rolleston is Head of the Department of German at Duke University and has written widely on modern German literature.
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