21 Short Tales

by Franz Kafka, David Barrett (Translator)

A selection of twenty-one pieces of Kafka's short fiction in a new (2011) English translation. Ranging from tiny sketches and prose poems to longer, more conventional narratives, the stories included here are:

A Country Doctor - In the Gods - An Old Folio - Before the Law - Jackals and Arabs - A Visit to the Mine - The Next Village - An Imperial Message - A Paterfamilias Perplexed - Eleven Sons - A Fratricide - A Dream - Bucket Rider - Of Metaphors - The Silence of the Sirens - Gracchus the Hunter - The Knock on the Courtyard Door - Advocates - The Vulture - At Night - A Little Fable.

This e-book has a total length of around 16,000 words.

Genres: Fiction, Philosophy, Classics, Short Stories, Literary Fiction, Literature

49 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 13, 2011

About the author

Prague-born writer Franz Kafka wrote in German, and his stories, such as " The Metamorphosis " (1916), and posthumously published novels, including The Trial (1925), concern troubled individuals in a nightmarishly impersonal world.

Jewish middle-class family of this major fiction writer of the 20th century spoke German. People consider his unique body of much incomplete writing, mainly published posthumously, among the most influential in European literature.

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

Despite first language, Kafka also spoke fluent Czech. Later, Kafka acquired some knowledge of the French language and culture from Flaubert, one of his favorite authors.

Kafka first studied chemistry at the Charles-Ferdinand University of Prague but after two weeks switched to law. This study 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, 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.

Writing of Kafka attracted little attention before his death. During his lifetime, he published only a few short stories and never finished any of his novels except the very short "The Metamorphosis." Kafka wrote to Max Brod, his friend and literary executor: "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 told Kafka that he intended not to honor these wishes, but Kafka, so knowing, nevertheless consequently gave these directions specifically to Brod, who, so reasoning, overrode these wishes. Brod in fact oversaw the publication of most of work of Kafka in his possession; these works quickly began to attract attention and high critical regard.

Max Brod encountered significant difficulty in compiling notebooks of Kafka into any chronological order as Kafka started writing in the middle of notebooks, from the last towards the first, et cetera.

Kafka wrote all his published works in German except several letters in Czech to Milena Jesenská.

Reviews

[Atri · Rating 4 out of 5]

The time allotted you is so short that if you lose one second you have lost your whole life already, because it is not longer, but always only just as long as the time you lose. If, then, you have started on a path, carry on whatever happens - you can only gain, you run no risk; maybe at the end you will fall, but had you turned back after the first steps and descended the stairs, you would have fallen at the very beginning - and not maybe, but quite certainly. So if you find nothing here in the corridors, open the doors; and if you find nothing behind these doors, there are new storeys; and if you find nothing up there, that's no problem - leap up new stairways. As long as you don't stop climbing the steps will never cease; beneath your climbing feet they rise on ever upwards.

[Rakhi Dalal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not all the stories were equally engaging.

[Laysee · Rating 3 out of 5]

In "21 Short Tales", Franz Kafka presented a collection of extremely short but intriguing stories that wove elements of the surreal and fantastical into the real world. In light of their brevity, it was amazing how Kafka infused tension into his stories and skilfully worked toward their resolution (most of the time anyway). They tended to depict an ambivalent situation and the reader was left to draw his or her own conclusions.

In these stories, men as well as animals were portrayed as having been misunderstood, cut off from the mainstream, on the threshold of danger, starring in the face of fear. The stories were weighed down by loneliness, often a death wish, but they also imperceptibly touched an inner space you did not even know mattered. The stories almost always left a sense of disquiet - the "all is not well in the state of Denmark" kind of disturbance.

Half the time I had a sense in Kafka's stories that something significant was happening if I could only fathom what they were really saying. This is my first acquaintance with Kafka. I am not sure I wish to read more if he constantly put me to work. If these short tales elude me, his long ones are likely to frustrate me even more. However, if you enjoy "obscure lucidity", you may find Kafka great literary company.

A Country Doctor
A patient in apparent distress; a doctor immobilised by a snowstorm and a horseless carriage. The events leading up to the resolution (or was there one?) were bizarre, fantastical, and spell-binding too. Surprising twist: Who needed saving - the patient or the country doctor?

In The Gods
Stylistically, the story rode amazingly on two sentences. They described the devotion of a ringmaster toward a circus girl while she perfected her leaps, an attentiveness so suffused with care, the observer was moved to tears.

An Old Folio
A cobbler despondently reflected on the intrusion of nomads into the fatherland, the latter were there ironically to offer protection. But they were like devouring jackdaws; the fatherland was doomed.

Before The Law
A perplexing parable. A man spent his whole life requesting entry to the law but to no avail because the doorkeeper did not deem him fit to be granted admittance. And yet that entrance was meant for the man only. Why deny him what was meant for him alone? It made me think of a Biblical injunction, "by the law shall no man be saved".

Jackals and Arabs
A surreal story, skilfully told, about enmity between the jackals and Arabs. An old jackal presented the misery of his kind, borne of persecution by the Arabs to the narrator from the North. The Arab too shared his side of the story surrounding the ancient feud. Do I believe the jackal or the Arab?

A Visit to the Mine
The narrator observed a group of young engineers at a mine. Each member of the team was so well described in the briefest terms and yet, each had a personality all his own.

The Next Village
Just one paragraph of a man reflecting on how short life is.

An Imperial Message
The emperor on his deathbed had his last words carried by a messenger but they would not be delivered. The chambers in the palace were impenetrable as one supposed is bureaucracy and its crippling inefficiency.

A Paterfamilias Perplexed
Reflections on the permanence of Odradek. an inanimate object - a star-shaped bobbin - versus the transience of the man in whose house it was found.

Eleven Sons
A father took pains to describe each of his eleven sons but none of them measured up to his expectations. What a severe man!

A Fratricide
A brutal murder on a clear moonlit night. But what was the motive?

A Dream
Josef K. had a surreal dream. He was out walking and found himself in a cemetery where he saw an artist carving his name onto a grave stone. It was his name on the stone. Disturbing dream but he woke up from it "delighted". Why?

Bucket Rider
A poor man freezing in the cold begged for a shovel of coal. He had no money to buy coal but the coal seller's wife took no pity on him. He disappeared into the high ice-mountains never to be seen again. Chilling story, literally.

Of Metaphors
Clever tongue-in-cheek pontification on metaphors and the unfathomable (like this story itself). Aaargh!

The Silence of the Sirens
The sirens had a weapon more potent than their song and that was their silence. Odysseus could not escape their silence because he did not hear them.

Gracchus the Hunter
A hunter had died and was already borne on a bier but he was still alive.

The Knock on the Courtyard Door
Strange tale of a man who was imprisoned because his sister who was walking with him might have knocked on a courtyard door.

Advocates
A man was gathering advocates to counter injustice but all he found were old ladies in aprons wandering down a corridor. The sense was of futility that justice could be upheld anywhere.

The Vulture
A violent little tale about a vulture attacking a man and drowning in the latter's blood.

At Night
People seemingly snugly asleep were lost in the night and shared a common barren despair "under a cold sky on a cold earth". Cheerless story.

A Little Fable
Another violent and fatalistic little fable about a mouse that could not escape its fate despite trying to avoid it.

[Divya U · Rating 2 out of 5]

I visited the Franz Kafka museum in Prague and since then I wanted to try one of his books. Through his 21 short stories, I got my first glimpse of the Kafkaesque world. Sadly I wasn't that impressed by it. To me all of it was so bizarre that I couldn't appreciate the beauty in it. But here is an excerpt that I totally loved :
The time allotted you is so short that if you lose one second you have lost your whole life already, because it is not longer, but always only just as long as the time you lose. If, then, you have started on a path, carry on whatever happens - you can only gain, you run no risk; maybe at the end you will fall, but had you turned back after the first steps and descended the stairs, you would have fallen at the very beginning - and not maybe, but quite certainly.

[Vijayalakshmi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Of metaphors and cryptic parallels

Small book but should read it slowly of you want to make sense of some deep meaning! Very laborious read... for the sake of completing the book I read through it!!

[Avik · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is difficult to describe what I just read. Was the author trying to recollect his dreams? If so, did the stories end when he woke up, and is that the explanation for abrupt endings? Or did the author just want to play around with the reader - ending it just when things seem to be taking off? In any case, I couldn't make much sense of these stories. Or maybe, I say ramblings. Flights of fancy, if you please. In some cases, I thought I was getting what the author was alluding to. In some cases, I could not disagree more with the negative and hopeless tone - at least that's what it sounded like to me. Was there any sense at all? Maybe I shouldn't try to find meaning where there's none to be found, none that was conveyed. Are you liking this review? Either way, this book is more of the same.

[Rekhit · Rating 4 out of 5]

What did I just read?

Halfway through the book, I realised something which made the whole book a bit more understandable. The stories here are almost like a dream. There are no laws over here, Reality, what reality. Just like a dream where anything can happen, each story feels like that.
And yet you are not bored at all, and when you finish it, you just feel, damn, I want more.

[Devendra Kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kafka is a delight to read any minute of the day and having said that reading and understanding Kafka is not for everyone. Shoutout to all Kafka fans!

[Harshita Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book

This book not to be read in hurry..Take your time to read this book..some of the short stories are just amazing

[Shalini Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not understand few stories at all.. I couldn't even guess what they were about but the ones I could maybe guess were amazing. You feel them deep.

[Saad Abdulmahmoud · Rating 5 out of 5]

In 21 Short Tales laat Kafka zien hoe hij met minimale middelen maximale impact bereikt. Zijn teksten dwingen tot herlezen en herdenken; ze blijven zich uitbreiden in het hoofd van de lezer. Wie eenmaal aan Kafka begint, kan eigenlijk niet meer stoppen, omdat zijn werk niet afgerond voelt zolang je het niet in zijn geheel hebt geprobeerd te begrijpen.

A Country Doctor
Een arts wordt ’s nachts op absurde wijze naar een patiënt gebracht. Hij blijkt machteloos tegenover ziekte, schuld en morele verantwoordelijkheid. Thema’s: falen, slachtofferschap, existentiële wanhoop.

In the Gods
Een circusvoorstelling wordt vanuit twee perspectieven beschreven: uitbuiting versus idealisering. De toeschouwer kan niet ingrijpen en eindigt huilend. Illusie tegenover werkelijkheid.

An Old Folio
Nomadische hordes bezetten een stad; de keizer blijft passief. De burgers zijn machteloos. Allegorie van politieke verlamming en bureaucratisch falen.

Before the Law
Een man wacht zijn hele leven voor een deur die speciaal voor hem bedoeld is, maar die nooit opengaat. Klassiek verhaal over autoriteit, gehoorzaamheid en zinloos wachten.

Jackals and Arabs
Jackals vragen een Europeaan om hun conflict met Arabieren “op te lossen”. Hun haat blijkt ritueel en uitzichtloos. Thema’s: kolonialisme, irrationaliteit, onoplosbare conflicten.

A Visit to the Mine
Mijnwerkers observeren ingenieurs die de mijn inspecteren. De kloof tussen arbeid en autoriteit wordt scherp maar afstandelijk getoond.

The Next Village
Een ultrakort verhaal: het leven is zo kort dat zelfs een reis naar het volgende dorp al te lang kan zijn. Tijd en sterfelijkheid.

An Imperial Message
Een boodschap van de keizer zal de onderdaan nooit bereiken. Communicatie en macht zijn fundamenteel onmogelijk.

A Paterfamilias Perplexed
De verteller beschrijft het raadselachtige wezen Odradek. Het object overleeft generaties en ontneemt de vader rust. Angst voor zinloos voortbestaan.

Eleven Sons
Een vader analyseert zijn elf zonen, elk met tekortkomingen. Het geheel vormt een zelfportret van de mens: verdeeld, tegenstrijdig, onvolmaakt.

A Fratricide
Een koelbloedige moord wordt bijna juridisch beschreven. Schuld, geweld en onverschilligheid domineren.

A Dream
Josef K. droomt zijn eigen begrafenis. Zijn naam verschijnt pas wanneer hij zelf verdwijnt. Identiteit en dood.

Bucket Rider
Een man rijdt op een lege kolenemmer om om hulp te vragen. Hij wordt genegeerd en verdwijnt. Armoede en sociale onzichtbaarheid.

Of Metaphors
Een filosofische dialoog over metaforen en betekenis. Taal blijkt een valkuil.

The Silence of the Sirens
De sirenen zwijgen; Odysseus hoort niets. Stilte is gevaarlijker dan verleiding. Interpretatie en misleiding.

Gracchus the Hunter
Een jager is eeuwig dood maar niet gestorven. Hij zwerft tussen leven en dood. Limbo als bestaanstoestand.

The Knock on the Courtyard Door
Een onverwachte klop verstoort de nacht. Dreiging zonder verklaring.

Advocates
Advocaten zijn aanwezig maar helpen niet. Rechtspraak is leeg ritueel.

The Vulture
Een gier eet aan de verteller. Een voorbijganger doodt het dier, maar daarmee ook de man. Onontkoombaar lijden.

At Night
Een figuur waakt ’s nachts over de wereld, maar is volkomen alleen. Existentiële eenzaamheid.

A Little Fable
Een muis klaagt dat de wereld kleiner wordt; een kat eet hem op. Onvermijdelijk einde.

Kafka’s verhalen tonen consequent:
Machteloosheid van het individu
Ondoorgrondelijke autoriteit
Schuld zonder misdaad
Wachten zonder beloning
Communicatie die faalt
Existentiële angst en absurditeit

De werkelijkheid lijkt logisch, maar is moreel en rationeel onbegrijpelijk.

De kracht van deze verhalen ligt niet in plot, maar in atmosfeer en idee. Kafka toont hoe mensen vastlopen in systemen die groter zijn dan zijzelf: de wet, de staat, het gezin, de taal. Zelfs hulp (artsen, keizers, advocaten) blijkt een illusie.

Deze bundel is geen ontspannende lectuur, maar wel essentieel voor wie literatuur ziet als een middel om het bestaan te bevragen.

Citaten (selectie)
“None but you could gain admittance here, for this entrance was meant only for you.” (Before the Law)

“Life is amazingly short.” (The Next Village)

“It is a misunderstanding, and it is killing us.” (An Old Folio)

“I came into this world with a fine wound.” (A Country Doctor)

“Sadly only metaphorically.” (Of Metaphors)

[Dale Muckerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather disappointing for me. A Hunger Artist is a good story. In the Penal Colony is interesting as is A Country Doctor. The Great Wall of China is ambitious but problematic. I felt that most of the stories dealt too much with thoughts and ideas and not enough with emotion. Perhaps this is the trademark of Kafka—being alienated and isolated in thought while at the same time struggling to feel anything emotionally.

If you like stories that are puzzles, you might like these stories.

I felt A Hunger Artist was good because of its insight— it showed the artist stuck in his head and shriveling away from all human contact. The story makes fun of artists who think their suffering is a big deal. It seems like the essence of all the other stories.

[Vaishnavi H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picturesque stories

Each story has a picture in itself. Kafka steals our heart by his detailed descriptions. It was as if I am surviving the scene in each story.

I have read all the stories twice, once to get habituated to the language and for the second time to catch insights. Each story speaks of how momentary life is and yet how beautifully it can be lived. It speaks up for the downtrodden, the harsh realities of the aristocratic system and much more.

It is recommended for those who are stepping into the real world after school. These stories make one realize how the real word and its institutions work.

A book to live life much better.

[Amul Saha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kafka is as Kafka gets.

A reader must tread carefully, even though these are short stories, in order to get what the Kafka is trying to say.

For instance, we could encounter a ghost in the guise of a man till we have the wisdom enough to figure that it's perhaps otherwise. Or we could find ourselves empathising with the plight of a poor man who just needs coal to keep himself warm but doesn't have much apart from his words to offer to the merchant.

Rating it 3 stars for the creativity that Kafka is able to bring out in these stories.

[Ashwini · Rating 1 out of 5]

Absolute waste of time. By the time I laboured to the end I just wanted the book to get over with. The stories did not have a flow. Did not make any sense. Did not have a ending I could comprehend. Utter waste of time and effort.

[Luke · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Posterity
The reason why posterity's judgment of individuals is juster than the contemporary one lies in their being dead. One develops in one's own way only after death, only when one is alone. Death is to the individual as Saturday evening to the chimney sweep; it washes the dirt from his body. Then it can be seen whether his contemporaries harmed him more, or whether he did the more harm to his contemporaries; in the latter case he was a great man.”

[prahaladrao · Rating 3 out of 5]

The selective parables have been very good It is mixed bag of stories ..I really like 'Advocates' and 'Before the law'.

P.S- Google the parable titles to get the jist of the stories .

[Sanket · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last one with Cat & Mouse story was superb. All you need is to change direction!!!
Rest of the stories are also good.

[Sarath Thampi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have liked to say I understood Kafka. Sadly, it’s not the case. The prose was good anyway.

[ness · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't mind it, but some stories were hard to get through.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

He’s insane for this. But not all stories made sense tbh. Either way he’s insane.

[Neeraj Cherukuri · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Briley Quillen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A literary masterpiece, every one of them

Franz Kafka writes the most bittersweet words. Hands down one of my favorite authors of all time. 10/10 will always recommend.

[Jay Rao · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice and flavoursome short stories

A good selection of Kafka's short stories. Highlights are definitely a country doctor and eleven sons. A few of the shorter stories need a more vivid imagination.

[Anurag · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is more like a collection of short essays. Essays about perplexed dream states. We've all experienced these states sometime but Kafka had the flair to pen them.
Some of them succeed in making you think. Others seem superficial, but then I'm no Freud or Kafka.