Franz Kafka

Author profile

born

in Prague, Czech Republic

July 03, 1883

died

June 03, 1924

genre

Literature & Fiction, Philosophy, Short Stories

influences

Franz Werfel, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Knut Hamsun, Søren Kierkegaard, Augus ...more

About this author

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Franz Kafka (German pronunciation: [ˈfʀants ˈkafka]) was one of the major fiction writers of the 20th century. He was born to a middle-class German-speaking Jewish family in Prague, Bohemia (presently the Czech Republic), Austria–Hungary. His unique body of writing—much of which is incomplete and which was mainly published posthumously—is considered to be among the most influential in Western literature.

His stories include The Metamorphosis (1912) and In the Penal Colony (1914), while his novels are The Trial (1925), The Castle (1926) and Amerika (1927).

Kafka learned German as his first language, but he was also fluent in Czech. Later, Kafka acquired some knowledge of French language and culture; one of his favorite authors was Flaubert.

Kaf...more Franz Kafka (German pronunciation: [ˈfʀants ˈkafka]) was one of the major fiction writers of the 20th century. He was born to a middle-class German-speaking Jewish family in Prague, Bohemia (presently the Czech Republic), Austria–Hungary. His unique body of writing—much of which is incomplete and which was mainly published posthumously—is considered to be among the most influential in Western literature.

His stories include The Metamorphosis (1912) and In the Penal Colony (1914), while his novels are The Trial (1925), The Castle (1926) and Amerika (1927).

Kafka learned German as his first language, but he was also fluent in Czech. Later, Kafka acquired some knowledge of French language and culture; one of his favorite authors was Flaubert.

Kafka first studied chemistry at the Charles-Ferdinand University of Prague, but switched after two weeks to law. This offered a range of career possibilities, which pleased his father, and required a longer course of study that gave Kafka time to take classes in German studies and art history. At the university, he joined a student club, named Lese- und Redehalle der Deutschen Studenten, which organized literary events, readings and other activities. In the end of his first year of studies, he met Max Brod, who would become a close friend of his throughout his life, together with the journalist Felix Weltsch, who also studied law. Kafka obtained the degree of Doctor of Law on 18 June 1906 and performed an obligatory year of unpaid service as law clerk for the civil and criminal courts.

Kafka's writing attracted little attention until after his death. During his lifetime, he published only a few short stories and never finished any of his novels, unless "The Metamorphosis" is considered a (short) novel. Prior to his death, Kafka wrote to his friend and literary executor Max Brod: "Dearest Max, my last request: Everything I leave behind me ... in the way of diaries, manuscripts, letters (my own and others'), sketches, and so on, [is] to be burned unread." Brod overrode Kafka's wishes, believing that Kafka had given these directions to him specifically because Kafka knew he would not honor them—Brod had told him as much. Brod, in fact, would oversee the publication of most of Kafka's work in his possession, which soon began to attract attention and high critical regard.

Max Brod encountered significant difficulty in compiling Kafka's notebooks into any chronological order as Kafka was known to start writing in the middle of notebooks, from the last towards the first, etc.

All of Kafka's published works, except several letters he wrote in Czech to Milena Jesenská, were written in German.(less)

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Average rating: 3.85 · 312,295 ratings · 8,660 reviews · 397 distinct works · Similar authors

	The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka, Stanley Corngold (Translator) 3.71 of 5 stars 3.71 avg rating — 162,530 ratings — published 1915 — 475 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Trial by Franz Kafka, Edwin Muir (Translator), Willa Muir (Translator) 3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 avg rating — 64,988 ratings — published 1925 — 426 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Complete Stories by Franz Kafka, Nahum N. Glatzer (editor), John Updike (foreword) 4.34 of 5 stars 4.34 avg rating — 11,669 ratings — published 1970 — 62 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Metamorphosis and Other Stories by Franz Kafka, Jason Baker (Introduction), Donna Freed (Translation) 3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 13,772 ratings — published 1915 — 109 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Castle by Franz Kafka, Mark Harman (Translator) 4.01 of 5 stars 4.01 avg rating — 10,608 ratings — published 1926 — 200 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Metamorphosis, in the Penal Colony and Other Stories: The Great Short Works of Franz Kafka 3.95 of 5 stars 3.95 avg rating — 6,619 ratings — published 2000	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Amerika 3.71 of 5 stars 3.71 avg rating — 7,518 ratings — published 1927 — 119 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	In The Penal Colony 4.12 of 5 stars 4.12 avg rating — 3,969 ratings — published 1914 — 42 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Hunger Artist by Franz Kafka, Kevin Blahut (Translator), Helena Vlčnovská (Illustrator) 4.16 of 5 stars 4.16 avg rating — 3,570 ratings — published 1924 — 25 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Letter to My Father by Franz Kafka, Ernst Kaiser (Translator), Eithne Wilkins (Translator) 3.89 of 5 stars 3.89 avg rating — 2,769 ratings — published 1919 — 77 editions	Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Quotes by Franz Kafka

“Many a book is like a key to unknown chambers within the castle of one’s own self.”
― Franz Kafka

tags: books, castle, self

2,057 people liked it

“A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us.”
― Franz Kafka

tags: books

1,666 people liked it

“Youth is happy because it has the capacity to see beauty. Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old.”
― Franz Kafka

tags: beauty, wonder, young-at-heart, youth, youthfulness

1,147 people liked it

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