Selected Short Stories of Franz Kafka (Modern Library) [Hardcover]

Franz Kafka (Author), Willa Muir (Translator), Edwin Muir (Translator), Philip Rahv (Introduction)

Book Description

Series: Modern Library | Publication Date: August 17, 1993

no dust jacket

Product Details

• Hardcover: 346 pages
• Publisher: Modern Library; First Edition edition (August 17, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679600612
• ISBN-13: 978-0679600619
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,413,259 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars SELECTED SHORT STORIES OF FRANZ KAFKA, September 7, 2010

By 

thepaxdomini "The Book Review" (Tulsa, OK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Selected Short Stories of Franz Kafka (Modern Library) (Hardcover)

Selected Short Stories of Franz Kafka (1936), translated from the German by Willa and Edwin Muir, collects fifteen of Kafka's stories, including his most famous, "The Metamorphosis."

Kafka is, for the most part, doing his own thing with his writing. In other words, he wrote for himself rather than for any particular reader or audience; this is why he's often considered one of the more influential writers of the twentieth century, but it may also be why many of his stories weren't published during his lifetime.

Kafka's absurdist, existentialist style demands analysis and begs interpretation. Kafka's work offers an astounding depth of opportunity for critical interpretation, but if you can't be bothered to put in the effort, you aren't going to get much of anything out of his stories (a highlight here for the read-for-enjoyment crowd is "The Hunger Artist," one of Kafka's more coherent tales).

Many of Kafka's tales are little more than philosophical essays dressed up as stories, and the reader who is not of an academically literary mindset should be readily forgiven for finding many of these stories horribly boring and.

If you're looking for unique, groundbreaking writing full of potential for academic analysis and literary interpretation, Kafka is exactly what you want. If you're reading for enjoyment, you could scarcely do worse. In short, Kafka's not for everybody, and he's not for me.

5 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Powerful., May 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Selected Short Stories of Franz Kafka (Modern Library) (Hardcover)

Franz Kafka is a true genius, there is no other way to put it. The stories are very powerful and "intoxicating" is the oly way I can put it. This book would have gotten a 6, only for the fact that the book lacked more stories and better translating; this is the publisher's fault. This book is a great one to start with for people just picking up on Kafka's works.