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To understand Kafka, this book argues, one must consider him foremost as a Jewish writer. In clear, jargon-free fashion, Grozinger considers the influence on Kafka on the Kabbalah, which is both the dominant source of Eastern Jewish thought and Hasidism. Virtually all that has come to be called Kafkaesque has its origin and foundation in the Kabbalah. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The Flaubertain writer for whom nothing is trivial as long as it is right
Elias Canetti fascinated with the genius of Kafka reads one set of the 'letter- diary' literature , that between Kafka and his two - time fiancee Felice Bauer. Canetti sees the letters of Kafka to Bauer as an astounding work of literature, a guidebook to the soul.
Kafka met Felice Bauer in August 1913 a day after gathering together the writings of his first published work, "Meditations" . Two days after meeting her he sat down and wrote for nine hours straight , his breakthrough story 'The Judgment' As Cannetti sees it the meeting with Felice Bauer led to one of the most productive literary periods of his life.
The three- month idyll ended when the efficient, strong, but not very literary- Bauer showed no enthusiasm for Kafka's first work, and instead praised the works of those whose names we do not know today.
This small work traces one chapter in the life of one mankind's greatest literary artists, the one who more than any other made the precise description of his own anxieties and fears an eternal part of the collective human soul portrait.
This work is too filled with many insightful passages by Canetti who reads the life of Kafka with sympathy admiration and understanding.

An intriguing aperitif, but not quite the main attraction
Canetti presents a readable overview of Kafka's intense correspondence with Felice Bauer, providing a rough biographical sketch of theauthor during this turbulent (two abortive engagements to the same woman) yetproductive (Metamorphosis, e.g.) time in his life. I don't think Canettisucceeded in proving his notion that Kafka's landmark novel The Trial is afictionalized representation of his oddly doomed relationship with Felice,but he does point out several interesting parallels which can enhance yourenjoyment of Joseph K's misadventures. The real value of Canetti's book is,in my opinion, the fact that it will probably inspire you to read Kafka'sown diaries and the actual letters to Felice themselves, and probably witha greater appreciation as well. ... Read more

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-Al despertar Gregorio Samza una manana, se encontro en su cama convertido en un montruoso insecto.-Tal es el abrupto comienzo, que nos situa de raiz bajo unas reglas distintas, de LA METAMORFOSIS, sin duda la onra de Franz Kafka 1883-1924 que ha alcanzado mayor celebridad. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Las relaciones familia-hijo
A mi punto de vista, el personaje principal, era el que mantenia su casa en un trabajo en el cual lo explotaban todos, pero un dia,al sufrir un cambio y convertirse en un tipo de insecto, su familia y "amigos" lo empiezan a despreciar, por su apariencia y porque ya no era util para ellos...al grado de que lo evitan la mayor parte del tiempo, dicha aberracion que sienten sobre el llega tambien a que el sea insultado y golpeado.

Creo que es una manera de ver, que no importa quien seas, si no pueden sacarte algun provecho, dejaran de apreciarte. ... Read more

Product Description
Kafka's letters to Felice Bauer were written between 1912 and 1917, during which time they were twice engaged to be married. This complex relationship, which coincided with a period of great productivity for Kafka, gave him both hope and strength, but gradually disllusionment and the onset of illness drove them apart. These letters remain as a monument to the inner life of a creative artist. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (8)

The bottom.
So much writing ABOUT Kafka! But this hits the bottom.
Only an English school wiseguy could suggest the view
from that perspective! Awful waste of time and money.
A potboiler. The nerve of the guy to ride the coattails
of genius.
Read Kafka instead!
Reading Kafka can be life-illuminating, joyful, fun
and full of surprises. Inspired creations, on a par with
Chaucer, Shakespeare, maybe Joyce, for the energy that
comes across.

A new take on Kafka
Pulls the rug out from under the critics' credulous portrait of aneurasthenic and prophetic genius, and puts in its place a real person, Kafka the lawyer, master wordsmith and manipulator, who made frequent use of the "tortured artist" trope as an excuse to justify his own immature, callous or outrageous behavior.Compulsively readable.

Read After You Read Kafka
The book is a Kafka-killer if read before you read Kafka and a Kafka-extender if read after you read Kafka.The author flips the beetle of Kafka industry on its back for an original and captivating de-metamorphosing of the K.-myth. While the title ("Why You Should Read Kafka Before You Waste Your Life") promises existential lessons, the book, as noted by another reviewer here, is an alternate biography or, rather, a supplement/addendum to the official biographies. The tone (slightly sensationalizing, with the risk of metamorphosing one K.myth into another) and the message (of normalizing the man behind the official K. myth) seem to be in a bit of a conflict - which adds to the complexity of the work itself.In reading the comments to these reviews, somebody remarked that the original title (author's title) for UK edition was "Excavating Kafka."If, indeed, so, then the author clearly excels at his scholarly mandate.In sum, my advice is two-fold: a) to stay away from the book until you've had your fill of Kafka since reading this particular about-Kafka thesis will likely bias new reader's impression of Kafka (with the idea from the Trial that "text alone" stands notwithstanding); b) if you found Kafka of interest, I definitely recommend this book as a must post-Kafka about-Kafka read).Either way, do not rush to throw away your Kafka t-shirt from Prague!

Pavel Somov, Ph.D., "Eating the Moment" [...]

Not perfect, but absolutely important
The zealous title of this book gives an idea of its flaws.It really doesn't give a solid suggestion as to why you should read Kafka before you waste your life, or why your life would be wasted if you didn't read Kafka.As other reviewers here have pointed out, it is a bit thin on citations, and Hawes really likes italics.Especially in its last half, it is absolutely riddled with typographical errors (some to the point of robbing the sentence of its meaning) where the author and more probably the editor became lazy.

That said, I consider this book so important that it deserves five stars regardless.The highly negative (though clearly intelligent) reviewers seem to have missed something in the book.I will admit, however, that I am a pedestrian (obsessive) Kafka fan and I am in no way educated on Kafka.

Hawes very acutely inspects all these myths surrounding Kafka, grouped together as "the K.-myth," and he...well, solves them.Readers versed in Kafka's biography may feel that Hawes is simplifying things, but his thesis is essentially that Kafka should be approached without the assumptions that, arguably, most readers of Kafka or of works on Kafka hold.When I say that Hawes solves the myths, I mean that he makes some incredible (and in my opinion groundbreaking) connections, using the Diaries, the letters, works on Kafka, and history, that give very sensible explanations for what has historically been regarded as inexplicable.

I can imagine Hawes thinking that this title was just so delicious that he couldn't possibly bear to name this book anything else, but it's not really appropriate to what the book does.I would expect the book to be most enjoyable to people who have read Kafka and who are familiar with his life, and it's written in such a way that I could imagine a lot of it being confusing for someone who doesn't know Kafka.

This book isn't a biography of the life of Kafka, nor will it make those unfamiliar with Kafka shout, "I must read Kafka now!", and it doesn't do the usual plumbing of the depths of the twisted darkness that is Kafka's life and writing.Instead, it works out the kinks, gives fascinating and logical explanations for all the Kafka-muck that readers love to get lost in, and disproves a lot of assumptions about Kafka's life and works.

I guess it depends on what Kafka is to you: if you think you have Kafka figured out (in only the most Kafkaesque way of the acceptance of the impossibility of ever figuring him out at all), you'll probably hate this book.If you're interested in Kafka and want to get your world completely turned upside-down, it's essential.

Annoyingly over italicized and absently cited text
Every single page of "Why you Should Read Kafka Before you Waste your Life" has an italicized bit of text. Hawes uses italics for its conventional usage: to stress meaning, or call attention to an important area of information. However, he uses it on every single page, over and over again, making a read through extremely aggravating. It's as if the author had not yet developed a voice, so he overly used italics in his book to 'really show' people that he was a serious scholar with great ideas which needed to be pointed out, by him, on every friggin' page.

And then there's the lack of citations. Jesus christ, the lack of citations is appalling! I'm doing my thesis on Kafka, and I will be lucky if I could use this book even once due to the absence of a works cited page. I know some of the information in this book is accurate, but only because I have read it elsewhere (in books which used citations!!). If you are someone who has not read anything about Kafka before, DO NOT start here. Hawes is confusing, and if you ever wanted to double check a fact and consult his sources, you're out of luck.

On the brighter side, the book is funny, has nice pictures, and is unabashedly biased.Use it as a supplement to your Kafka reading, and not as a foundation. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An extensive and scholarly study
Franz Kafka: A Question Of Jewish Identity by Sara Loeb (inter-disciplinary researcher and expert on Western culture, Central European Judaism, and Holocaust Literature) is a meticulously presented, in-depth focus on the life, philosophy, and Jewish identity of the renowned author Franz Kafka. An extensive and scholarly study that contemplates Kafka's friendship with Max Brod, reflections on the Diaspora, assimilation vs. self-hatred among Jews, and much, much more, Franz Kafka: A Question Of Jewish Identity is highly recommended for students of Kafka's writings as an unusually thoughtful, albeit sometimes technical account of the man, his life, thought, and work. ... Read more

Product Description
The classic works of literature contained in each of these volumes represent each author's best and most famous writings. A wonderful introduction to world literature, this finely crafted and affordable series offers the works of these world-renowned authors to a wider audience.Includes Amerika, The Metamorphosis, and The Trial.

Las obras clásicas de literatura en cada volumen son una representación de los mejores y más famosos escritos de los autores. Una introducción maravillosa a la literatura universal, esta serie hermosamente diseñada pone las obras de los autores mundialmente conocidos al alcance de todos. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (4)

Smiling Skeletons Not For Me
Tell me: what am I so disappointed about?Surely, I could not have thought that a graphic novel of THE TRIAL would be better than the original?Why is it, then, that I came out of the experience feeling as if I walked out of a museum with blank walls?Did the graphic novel not have good drawings?It did.Did the graphic novel not translate the story's prose into a visual experience?Yes, yes it did.Why is it, then, that I came out of the experience feeling as if I opened a large, ornate box with nothing inside?

Because the tone was not right.There is something absurdly comic about many of Kafka's works, but I never felt the overwhelming silliness this rendition ostensibly spots underneath the book covers.I never imagined such deranged faces speaking with the Josef K we are so familiar with; I never imagined smiling skeletons stalking the characters and winking at the readers.

But what pestered me the most was that, for whatever reason, Franz Kafka himself was chosen as the model for the main character.How distracting it was to continuously gaze at that one picture of the writer, that famed picture many see in their minds when his name is mentioned.Kafka's reserved face in the portrait reveals nothing; likewise, a number of Josef K's expressions reveal nothing.As a result, many of his thoughts are disastrously portrayed.I would have been lost through most of the graphic novel had it not been for the prose still fresh in my mind.Scenes like the one between K and Fräulein Bürstner in the first chapter show just how much important detail is omitted.

It would be unfortunate if you decide to rob yourself a wonderful experience by reading the graphic novel alone.If you really are curious, read the prose prior to flipping through the pictures.

Review of Mairowitz's Adaption of 'The Trial'
This adaption pays great attention to one important feature of any Kafka story--atmosphere. The artist and translator skillfully illustrate the bleak existence of the suspect. The translation is loose, but the effect is acutely present.

Stop deluding yourself about The Court!
Franz Kafka's classic tale of oppressive bureaucracy and lost humanity is the inspiration for a host of dystopian films and interpretations.Without The Trial there would be no Brazil, no Pink Floyd - The Wall, no Naked Lunch, not to mention its own 1962 Orson Welles' film adaptation The Trial.

In the story, Joseph K wakes up one morning to find himself under arrest.He is never told what for, but he goes through a sequence of meaningless events, including hiring a lawyer who does nothing but dither, an artist who attempts to sell him cheap paintings while promising valuable secrets on the inner workings of the court, and a collection of women who Joseph intends to seduce and use for his benefit.Every thing culminates in Joseph's eventual trial, and a parable in which he finds that the Door of Law will never open for him.

French artist Chantal Montellier (Un été algérien) and writer/translator David Zane Mairowitz (Introducing Kafka) did a magnificent job in adapting "The Trial" for the graphic novel format.Mairowitz boils down the story, leaving nothing important behind and capturing that all-important feeling of tumbling though circumstances beyond your control, while Montellier creates a harsh, stark, black-and-white world where everything is shades of grey.Just take a look at that cover.That staring Kafka face is an evocative image, and it is exactly the sort of thing that awaits you in "The Trial."

I have read Sterling Press's Edgar Allan Poe adaptations in Nevermore, and while well done I wasn't overwhelmed."The Trial," however is a power house.

Excellent Adaptation
Franz Kafka's "The Trial" is a fable, sadly relevant today, about the law perpetuating injustice instead of fighting it. The story concerns one Joseph K., who suddenly has two men show up at his door one morning, informing him he is under arrest. They do not identify which authority they represent, or tell K. what the charges are against him. Eventually the two men tell K. that he has to show up at a court on a particular day. From there, he tries in vain to figure out the Byzantine workings of the system that is apparently against him. The "court" is actually in an obscure building in a run-down neighborhood, for instance. Especially memorable in the story is the fable of the law- in which a man is waiting for entrance to the door of the law, but the doorman won't let him in.

Even if you never read graphic novels, this one is definitely worth getting. Mairowitz brings Kafka's nightmarish vision to life beautifully, along with all the absurdities of injustice in his world. One interesting little motif is a little skeleton that periodically pops up in the margins and comments on the events. If you've never read "The Trial", this is an excellent format in which to read it. I am of the opinion that graphic novels can be just as legitimate as traditional books in conveying literary themes. Although, if you're reading "The Trial" for a class, then read the traditional book, because you'll probably fail the quizzes if you rely on the graphic novel. Otherwise, this is highly recommended. Anyone who has been waiting for the absolute acquittal or entrance to the door of the law will love this. ... Read more

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Cliffs Test Preparation Guides help students prepare for and improve their performance on standardized tests ACT Preparation Guide CBEST Preparation Guide CLAST Preparation Guide ELM Review GMAT Preparation Guide GRE Preparation Guide LSAT Preparation Guide MAT Preparation Guide MATH Review for Standardized Tests MSAT Preparation Guide Memory Power for Exams Police Officer Examination Preparation Guide Police Sergeant Examination Preparation Guide Police Management Examinations Preparation Guide Postal Examinations Preparation Guide Praxis I: PPST Preparation Guide Praxis II: NTE Core Battery Preparation Guide SAT Preparation Guide SAT II Writing Preparation Guide TASP Preparation Guide TOEFL Preparation Guide with 2 cassettes Advanced Practice for the TOEFL with 2 cassettes Verbal Review for Standardized Tests Writing Proficiency Examinations You Can Pass the GED Cliffs Quick Reviews help students in introductory college courses or Advanced Placement classes Algebra I Algebra II Anatomy & Physiology Basic Math and Pre-Algebra Biology Calculus Chemistry Differential Equations Economics Geometry Linear Algebra Microbiology Physics Statistics Trigonometry Cliffs Advanced Placement Preparation Guides help high school students taking Advanced Placement courses to earn college credit AP Biology AP Calculus AB AP Chemistry AP English Language & Composition AP English Literature & Composition AP United States History Cliffs Complete Study Editions are comprehensive study guides with complete text, running commentary and glossary Chaucer's Prologue Chaucer's Wife of Bath Hamlet Julius Caesar King Henry IV, Part I King Lear Macbeth The Merchant of Venice Othello Romeo and Juliet The Tempest Twelfth Night See inside back cover for listing of Cliffs Notes titles Registered trademarks include: GRE, MSAT, the Praxis Series, and TOEFL (Educational Testing Service): AP, Advanced Placement Program, and SAT (College Entrance Examination Board); GMAT (Graduate Management Admission Council); and LSAT (Law School Admission Council.) The Metamorphosis & Other Stories ... Read more

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First rate analysis from Czermak on the writings of Kafka
Herberth Czermak has put together a somewhat different Cliffs Notes volume for looking at "The Metamorphosis" and other stories by Franz Kafka. Certainly it would a bit much to devote an entire little yellow book with the black stripes to the story of Gregor Samsa, although clearly it is Kafka's most important work. But the biggest difference is that this is a Cliffs Notes where the emphasis is on commentary to the exclusion of summaries of the works being discussed. You will not find a synopsis of these stories and you certainly will not understand the first-rate commentary and analysis if you have not read the stories in the first place. What you will find is detailed analysis that will help you understanding the writings of Franz Kafka. You have been warned.

Czermak's notes on the Life and Background do more than get into Kafka's biography, they set up the author's focus on "angst" and put "The Metamorphosis" in the context of his body of writing. In his Commentaries on Kafka's stories Czermak continues to cross-reference other works, which certainly suggests all sorts of comparison/contrast possibilities for class discussion. The Kafka stories examined here are: "The Judgment," "A Hunger Artist," "A Country Doctor," "In the Penal Colony," "The Hunter Gracchus," "The Burrow," "Investigations of a Dog," "A Report to an Academy," "The Great Wall of China," and "Josephine the Singer, or the Mouse Folk." After the Commentaries on the Stories, Czermak provides four short essays that cut these works, "Understanding Kafka," "Kafka's Jewish Influence," "Kafka--A 'Religious' Writer?" and "Kafka and Existentialism." This last essay is the most relevant because most students find existentialism to be an interesting thing to look at and "The Metamorphosis" is as good a place as any to begin exploring that major literary movement. ... Read more

Product Description
"One should either be a work of art, or wear one," proclaimed Oscar Wilde at the end of the nineteenth century; "I am made of literature, I am nothing else, and cannot be anything else," Franz Kafka declared a decade later. Between these two claims lies the largely unexplored region in which the European decadent movement turned into the modernist avant-garde. In this original historical study, Anderson explores Kafka's early dandyism, his interest in fashion, literary decadence and the "superficial" spectacle of modern urban life as well as his subsequent repudiation of these phenomena in forging a literary identity as the isolated, otherworldly "poet" of modern alienation. Rather than posit a break between these two personae, Anderson charts the historical continuities between the young Kafka and the author of The Metamorphosis and The Trial. The result is a startlingly unconventional portrait of Kafka and Prague at the turn of the century, involving such issues as Jungendstil aesthetics, Otto Weininger's "egoless" woman, the Viennese critique of architectural ornament, the clothing reform movement, anti-Semitism, and the question of Jewish-German writing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Add to Anderson's "Reading Kafka" as wonderful
Despite our need to rhapsodize about Kafka The Wounded Original, Anderson drags us back to earth and redirects our gaze to what he really was--a smart guy from an unpleasant home, stuck in a dead-end job he was good at but loathed---who one day as a teen sat on a hillside overlooking Prague and decided to write out "my inner dream-world."That inner life which, as such, reflected the turbulent first quarter of the 20th century, is universal and representative, and thus canonical.But it had its wellspring in the pamphlets, journals, theatre pieces, lectures, the junk science and the fads--and the clothes--that everyone else was viewing at the time.
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This absolutely brilliant little book meditates on a ridiculous and almost throwaway notion-that Kafka's dandyism (and subsequent aesthetic severity) weren't symptomatic so much as the core of all he was trying to be...and say.Exhaustively researched, thrillingly illustrated, Kafka's Clothes is about the smartest treatise on my favorite neurotic I've ever read--and believe me, I've read a LOT.I'm absolutely convinced of Anderson's thesis--he's got the playbills, the magazine illustrations, the diary entries to prove it.And you thought Frank poured over Milena Jasenska's fashion articles because he was in love!You silly!

Anderson's further assertion--that Kafka hid his influences by stripping his prose of all identifying tags--seems to point towards Blooms "Anxiety of Influence" writ large--or small, as the case may be.His arguments are compelling, probable--possible, even, given FK's self-involvement.Anyway, Anderson's clean prose leads the reader into an original look at art and its makers.Just about every Kafka biographer--and tons of academics--quote or gloss this book .If you have even a rudimentary knowledge of his life and work, you'll recognize the truth of Anderson's ideas, especially because he speaks German.It's worth every dime. Hey, remember Dora Diamant's quip that even when the two of them were starving during the Inflation in Berlin, Franz always wore hand-tailored suits?I've read her memoir of those months, and I always thought it was a throwaway comment, not jibing with my hero's ethos.Hmmm.

We call ... Anderson delivers! A Gem!
While his previous two works, "From the Ground Up: A Study of the Use of Prepositions in The Dramatic Works of Nikolai Gogal," and "Metamorphosis," were both gloriously academic and even enjoyable, Mark M. Anderson scores with his newest! (Although I did findhis insect to human thing interesting.) "Kafka's Clothes..."gives us an indepth view into the wardrobe of this guy Franz Kafka. Iparticularly enjoyed the long descriptions of his Wednesday sweater, anarticle of clothing that echoes vaguely of the modern day sweater-vest. Theguy, Franz Kafka, wore a lot of neutrals, mostly like tweed and wool.Anderson gives wonderful insight into the sock drawer not only of the guybut of the time. Engaging. Brilliant? Also, not to be missed ischapter four's retelling of "The Pied Piper." I had no idea thatthe guy playing the flute was blonde. Who knew? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Among the greatest of all literary diaries
These diaries tell the story of a great writer's struggle with his life and work. They are filled with remarkable poetic lines and with great psychological perceptions. Kafka's genius is felt in every line he wrote, and it is a difficult pleasure but a real one which can be obtained from reading this work. ... Read more

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stories, tr Kevin Blahut, illus Zoulfila Gazaeva ... Read more

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Cleanliness is Godliness
"A Country Doctor" is one of Kafkas most masterful displays of the written word to date.No, doctors don't have it easy and we get a first hand account of "how it really is" from this amazing book. Kafka strips the scrubs and exhibits the doctors body in detail, describinghow the doctor operates and reacts to troublesome patients.The A-septicmethod never struck me as being anything more than a method until now. Buyit, read it and don't forget to wipe. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review
Franz Kafka rarely left his home town of Prague. At 19, he wrote"Prague doesn't let go. This little mother has claws." And though hecomplained often to his diary that he needed to get away, he spent most ofhis 41 years (1883-1924) firmly Prague-rooted. Prague is where Kafka wroteThe Metamorphosis, The Trial, and The Castle, and where he lived andworked. A fan of Kafka might want to see the houses (nearly all stillstanding) where Kafka lived and the parks he strolled. Likewise, fans ofPrague get an expanded understanding of the city through Kafka's eyes. Thiserudite and beautifully compiled Travel Reader is not only a guide tothe Prague that Kafka knew, but also a guide to the Kafka that Prague knew. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

"This little mother has claws."
Franz Kafka spent most of his life in Prague, even though he always felt like a stranger there -- a German-speaking Jew in a predominately Czech Catholic town.Consequently, there are many sites in Prague that are of some interest to fans of Kafka's work.Klaus Wagenbach's little "Travel Reader" highlights most of these sites (e.g., the writer's birthplace, all the Kafka family residences around Old Town Square, Kafka's apartment in the castle, etc.).If you're headed to Prague, you could easily spend half a day retracing Kafka's footsteps with this guide.The book includes a map and numerous photographs of the city as it appeared about 100 years ago so you can contrast today's Prague with the Prague Kafka new.It also includes some short excerpts from Kafka's works, mostly vignettes like the haunting "An Imperial Edict", included next to the sections on the buildings where Kafka lived.

I lived in Prague myself for a month this summer and frequently took this book along with me on my evening jaunts through town.The selections from the writer's work included here helped add personal and emotional meaning to what otherwise might have been just a bunch of buildings.Highly recommended. ... Read more

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A selection of critical essays on Franz Kafka's novel "The Trial." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Trial
A very good book. ... Read more