This study attempts an exploration and recreation of the life of Kafka, not so much its daily events, but rather what went on in his mind, and the continuous process by which Kafka lived his stories and made his works lexical mirrors of his own private life. The author also wrote "Goethe".
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Much given to figurative and aphoristic language, which sometimes turns purple in critical rhapsody, Italian biographer Citati ( Goethe ) examines Kafka's diary and letters in a revisionist attempt to discover the human origins of that writer's fictions, arguing that Kafka envisioned an authoritarian "god of literature" who forced him to "transform his life, his mind and his body into a 'precisely articulated' instrument to secrete literature as the great writers whom he admired had done." Kafka's inner torments, variously attributed by other biographers to the dreaded influence of his father, the God of the Old Testament or the dreary bureaucratic ossification of Europe as he knew it, are here pronounced "literary" in origin, without diminishing the scope of the work ( Amerika , The Trial , The Castle and others are thoroughly glossed). Citati takes a fresh and welcome approach, but one that is intentionally selective and finally incomplete, restricted to the period of Kafka's mature writings (roughly from 1913 to his death in 1924) and declining to treat in depth his early life or the formative political events of his times.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Citati focuses on retelling Kafka's novels and major stories, relating his work to his life , and explicating both as religious allegories dealing with the plight of those who believe in God after the death of God. Yet though they are often pumped up by rhetoric and purple prose, Citati's interpretations seem too thin to do justice to Kafka, the enigmatic myths he created out of his life of renunciation, the qualities of his prose, and the special place his vision and myths hold in modern literature. Nevertheless, this book may appeal to those seeking a basic introduction to Kafka's life and works.
- Richard Kuczkowski, Dominican Coll., Blauvelt, N.Y.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Richard Kuczkowski, Dominican Coll., Blauvelt, N.Y.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
An Inspiring Look at Kafka,
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This review is from: Kafka (Paperback)
For lovers of the works of Franz Kafka, Citati's lyrical biography sings his praises in impassioned tones. Citati masterfully interweaves exerpts from Kafka's classic writings with his own enlightened commentary, while at the same time providing a lucid chronology of the life of the elusive genius. At times Citati's prose is nearly as beautiful as Kafka's. Through Citati's eyes we come to embrace Kafka's achingly personal musings with a new understanding. This is not so much a book for scholars as it is a joyous celebration for those readers who devour Kafka and hunger for more!
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