Kafkaesque: Stories Inspired by Franz Kafka

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Kafkaesque: Stories Inspired by Franz Kafka

by John Kessel (editor), James Patrick Kelly (Goodreads Author) (editor)

3.81 of 5 stars 3.81 · rating details · 21 ratings · 3 reviews

Dystopic and comedic, this anthology explorestop fiction from generations of writers and artists who have drawn inspiration from Franz Kafka's writings. The stories in this illuminating collection include Philip Roth's alternate history in which Kafka survived into the 1940s and emigrated to America; Jorge Luis Borges' bizarre lottery that develops into a mystical system;...more

Paperback, 432 pages

Published November 1st 2011 by Tachyon Publications

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Jan 28, 2012 Alan rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Modernists

Recommended to Alan by: Its crack editorial team, and a giant cockroach

S.'s application to review the anthology had been neither refused, nor accepted.

Despite the many explanations offered at various times by one or another of the officials who stood behind the window at the offices of G. where he had sat, gnawing the stub of his third pencil and filling out each page of the application, S. did not truly understand why this should be so. He had, after all, gone into great and, indeed, one might almost say superfluous length about the brilliance of the anthology's t...more S.'s application to review the anthology had been neither refused, nor accepted.

Despite the many explanations offered at various times by one or another of the officials who stood behind the window at the offices of G. where he had sat, gnawing the stub of his third pencil and filling out each page of the application, S. did not truly understand why this should be so. He had, after all, gone into great and, indeed, one might almost say superfluous length about the brilliance of the anthology's theme, the perfection of its title and the perspicacity of J.K. and J.K., the editors—who were not nearly so interchangeable as their shared initials might make it appear. He had expatiated on the wealth of biographical information in the book's foreword, the rhetorical flourishes and exciting new tidbits of information that the editors had thought to include—such as the report that the original K. had, upon reading the first chapters of one of his most significant works aloud, been in stitches of helpless laughter. And regarding the range of authors and styles included, S. had, he believed, raised the art of the review to heretofore unseen peaks of excellence.

Sitting on the hard wooden chair at the office of applications for review, hour upon hour, S. had crafted what he believed to be the perfect application, or at least the best such application of which human beings might be capable. He had stacked the pages neatly, attached all additional sheets and required supplements, and included the cheque for the total of all fees, surcharges and subsidiary assessments listed on the placard to the right-hand side of the official's window. He had placed his application for review gently, even reverently, into the tray labeled for that purpose.

Since then, he had been waiting. No word had come. S. trudged weekly to and from his minuscule apartment in the great gray city—he had taken rooms close to the offices of G. so he could more easily attend to the progress of his application. Upon each visit he filled out the much shorter application to review the status of an application to review and stood in line. Each time he handed his form to the waiting official directly, as was permitted by the schedule of rules posted to the left of the window. The officials behind that window—there was a small, rotating staff—soon grew familiar with S.'s appearance and often greeted him cheerfully as he entered and availed himself of the free coffee and light pastries that were often his only meal of the day. But they were never able to tell him anything concrete about the status of his application. They would bustle behind the barred window, inquire of their superiors, fill out forms of their own, but always in the end shake their solemn heads brusquely or sorrowfully, sympathetically or with cold indifference, in the face of S.'s disappointment, occasional anger, and eventual stoic resignation...

S. was discovered on the floor of the offices at G. one day by another applicant. Clutched in S.'s gnarled, clawed hand was a yellowed envelope, which the latest official had just that morning, in an excess of enthusiasm and initiative, discovered stuck to the bottom of a much older bin of outdated documents that were due for incineration. The front of the envelope bore the name and address of S. in his own hand, written there many years ago, and an uncancelled stamp of quaint design and nowadays insignificant denomination.

The envelope was sealed, and remained unopened.
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Jun 08, 2012 Tawnya rated it 2 of 5 stars

Again, I am drawn to pick out a weird book. This one is about people waking up having turned or in the process of turning into some bug. Weird

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Dec 10, 2011 Petabyte is currently reading it

I've always wanted to visit Prague. And while reading page 9 (still just the book's introduction) my desire to see Kafka city grows stronger.

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Apr 16, 2013 Steve Peacock is currently reading it

Apr 05, 2013 Patrick Tanski marked it as to-read

Mar 28, 2013 Dixielandoe rated it 5 of 5 stars

Feb 20, 2013 Stuart rated it 3 of 5 stars

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Shelves: short-stories

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Jul 29, 2012 Tracey rated it 4 of 5 stars

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Jul 13, 2012 Charlie marked it as save-for-later

Shelves: anthology, science-fiction, sf-site-2011-editors-choice, short-stories

Jul 09, 2012 Lauren rated it 4 of 5 stars

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About John Kessel

John (Joseph Vincent) Kessel co-directs the creative writing program at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. A winner of the Nebula, Locus, Sturgeon, and Tiptree Awards, his books include Good News From Outer Space, Corrupting Dr. Nice, The Pure Product, and The Baum Plan for Financial Independence and Other Stories. His story collection Meeting in Infinity was a New York Times Notable Book...more

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