Franz Kafka
eastern europe
jewish authors
Franz Kafka was a German-language Jewish Czech writer and novelist born in Prague, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature, his works fuse elements of realism and the fantastique, and typically feature isolated protagonists facing bizarre or surreal predicaments and incomprehensible socio-bureaucratic powers. The term Kafkaesque has entered the lexicon to describe situations like those depicted in his writings. His best-known works include the novella The Metamorphosis (1915) and the novels The Trial (1924) and The Castle (1926). He is also celebrated for his brief fables and aphorisms, which frequently incorporated comedic elements alongside the darker themes of his longer works. His work has widely influenced artists, philosophers, composers, filmmakers, literary historians, religious scholars, and cultural theorists, and his writings have been seen as prophetic or premonitory of a totalitarian future.— Wikipedia
Works
Betrachtung
Contemplation (Meditation)
Die Verwandlung
The Metamorphosis
Brief an den Vater
Letter to His Father
Ein Landarzt
A Country Doctor
In der Strafkolonie
In the Penal Colony
Ein Hungerkünstler
A Hunger Artist
Der Prozess
The Trial
Das Schloss
The Castle
Amerika
Amerika
Beim Bau der chinesischen Mauer
The Great Wall of China (short story collection)
Betrachtungen über Sünde, Hoffnung, Leid und den wahren Weg
Reflections on Sin, Hope, Suffering, and the True Way
Die Zürauer Aphorismen
The Zürau Aphorisms
Tagebücher
The Diaries of Franz Kafka
Acht blaue Oktavhefte
The Blue Octavo Notebooks
Short Works (60)
“Description of a Struggle” [“Beschreibung eines Kampfes”].Short Story.· 1909.
"Description of a Struggle" is a short story by Franz Kafka. It contains the dialogues "Conversation with the Supplicant" and "Conversation with the Drunk".
“The Aeroplanes in Brescia” [“Die Aeroplane in Brescia”].Essay.· 1909.
"The Aeroplanes at Brescia" is a short story by Franz Kafka published, in slightly shortened form, in the newspaper Bohemia on 29 September 1909. It describes an airshow near the Italian city of Brescia, which Kafka saw with two of his friends during their journey to Italy. Among other participants, they saw Louis Blériot, the aviator famous for the first flight across the English Channel. The story is lively and witty, as Kafka was fascinated by the airshow. It is also the first description of aeroplanes in German literature.
“The Judgment” [“Das Urteil”].Short Story.· 1913.
"The Judgment", also translated "The Verdict", is a short story written by Franz Kafka in 1912, concerning the relationship between a man and his father.
“The Stoker” [“Der Heizer”].Short Story.· 1913.
“The Metamorphosis” [“Die Verwandlung”].Short Story.· 1915.
The Metamorphosis, also translated as The Transformation, is a novella by Franz Kafka published in 1915. One of Kafka's best-known works, The Metamorphosis tells the story of salesman Gregor Samsa, who wakes to find himself inexplicably transformed into a huge insect and struggles to adjust to this condition, as does his family. The novella has been widely discussed among literary critics, who have offered varied interpretations. In popular culture and adaptations of the novella, the insect is commonly depicted as a cockroach.