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Franz Kafka
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.
Includes Amerika, The Metamorphosis, and The Trial.
676 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2000
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About the author
Franz Kafka
3,288 books39k followersFranz Kafka was a German-speaking writer from Prague whose work became one of the foundations of modern literature, even though he published only a small part of his writing during his lifetime. Born into a middle-class Jewish family in Prague, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Kafka grew up amid German, Czech, and Jewish cultural influences that shaped his sense of displacement and linguistic precision. His difficult relationship with his authoritarian father left a lasting mark, fostering feelings of guilt, anxiety, and inadequacy that became central themes in his fiction and personal writings.
Kafka studied law at the German University in Prague, earning a doctorate in 1906. He chose law for practical reasons rather than personal inclination, a compromise that troubled him throughout his life. After university, he worked for several insurance institutions, most notably the Workers Accident Insurance Institute for the Kingdom of Bohemia. His duties included assessing industrial accidents and drafting legal reports, work he carried out competently and responsibly. Nevertheless, Kafka regarded his professional life as an obstacle to his true vocation, and most of his writing was done at night or during periods of illness and leave. Kafka began publishing short prose pieces in his early adulthood, later collected in volumes such as Contemplation and A Country Doctor. These works attracted little attention at the time but already displayed the hallmarks of his mature style, including precise language, emotional restraint, and the application of calm logic to deeply unsettling situations. His major novels The Trial, The Castle, and Amerika were left unfinished and unpublished during his lifetime. They depict protagonists trapped within opaque systems of authority, facing accusations, rules, or hierarchies that remain unexplained and unreachable. Themes of alienation, guilt, bureaucracy, law, and punishment run throughout Kafka’s work. His characters often respond to absurd or terrifying circumstances with obedience or resignation, reflecting his own conflicted relationship with authority and obligation. Kafka’s prose avoids overt symbolism, yet his narratives function as powerful metaphors through structure, repetition, and tone. Ordinary environments gradually become nightmarish without losing their internal coherence. Kafka’s personal life was marked by emotional conflict, chronic self-doubt, and recurring illness. He formed intense but troubled romantic relationships, including engagements that he repeatedly broke off, fearing that marriage would interfere with his writing. His extensive correspondence and diaries reveal a relentless self-critic, deeply concerned with morality, spirituality, and the demands of artistic integrity. In his later years, Kafka’s health deteriorated due to tuberculosis, forcing him to withdraw from work and spend long periods in sanatoriums. Despite his illness, he continued writing when possible. He died young, leaving behind a large body of unpublished manuscripts. Before his death, he instructed his close friend Max Brod to destroy all of his remaining work. Brod ignored this request and instead edited and published Kafka’s novels, stories, and diaries, ensuring his posthumous reputation.
The publication of Kafka’s work after his death established him as one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. The term Kafkaesque entered common usage to describe situations marked by oppressive bureaucracy, absurd logic, and existential anxiety. His writing has been interpreted through existential, religious, psychological, and political perspectives, though Kafka himself resisted definitive meanings. His enduring power lies in his ability to articulate modern anxiety with clarity and restraint.
Kafka studied law at the German University in Prague, earning a doctorate in 1906. He chose law for practical reasons rather than personal inclination, a compromise that troubled him throughout his life. After university, he worked for several insurance institutions, most notably the Workers Accident Insurance Institute for the Kingdom of Bohemia. His duties included assessing industrial accidents and drafting legal reports, work he carried out competently and responsibly. Nevertheless, Kafka regarded his professional life as an obstacle to his true vocation, and most of his writing was done at night or during periods of illness and leave. Kafka began publishing short prose pieces in his early adulthood, later collected in volumes such as Contemplation and A Country Doctor. These works attracted little attention at the time but already displayed the hallmarks of his mature style, including precise language, emotional restraint, and the application of calm logic to deeply unsettling situations. His major novels The Trial, The Castle, and Amerika were left unfinished and unpublished during his lifetime. They depict protagonists trapped within opaque systems of authority, facing accusations, rules, or hierarchies that remain unexplained and unreachable. Themes of alienation, guilt, bureaucracy, law, and punishment run throughout Kafka’s work. His characters often respond to absurd or terrifying circumstances with obedience or resignation, reflecting his own conflicted relationship with authority and obligation. Kafka’s prose avoids overt symbolism, yet his narratives function as powerful metaphors through structure, repetition, and tone. Ordinary environments gradually become nightmarish without losing their internal coherence. Kafka’s personal life was marked by emotional conflict, chronic self-doubt, and recurring illness. He formed intense but troubled romantic relationships, including engagements that he repeatedly broke off, fearing that marriage would interfere with his writing. His extensive correspondence and diaries reveal a relentless self-critic, deeply concerned with morality, spirituality, and the demands of artistic integrity. In his later years, Kafka’s health deteriorated due to tuberculosis, forcing him to withdraw from work and spend long periods in sanatoriums. Despite his illness, he continued writing when possible. He died young, leaving behind a large body of unpublished manuscripts. Before his death, he instructed his close friend Max Brod to destroy all of his remaining work. Brod ignored this request and instead edited and published Kafka’s novels, stories, and diaries, ensuring his posthumous reputation.
The publication of Kafka’s work after his death established him as one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. The term Kafkaesque entered common usage to describe situations marked by oppressive bureaucracy, absurd logic, and existential anxiety. His writing has been interpreted through existential, religious, psychological, and political perspectives, though Kafka himself resisted definitive meanings. His enduring power lies in his ability to articulate modern anxiety with clarity and restraint.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 8, 2022
Impresionante Kafka.
February 19, 2016
Despertar cómodamente acostado en tu cama, pero sobresaltado por la intromisión en tu cuarto de unos oficiales que traen la notificación de que Ud se encuentra en un proceso judicial, solo puede ocurrir en un mundo Kafkiano.
Si, por supuesto que eso no tiene nada de raro, sobretodo si es un criminal y lo llevan preso; pero ¿qué ocurre si solo viene a notificarle? Aún no esta preso, no se ha decidido su suerte, tendrá más noticias, por el momento no es posible decirle de qué está acusado, solo podemos decirle que tiene que esperar a que lo contacten.
Joseph K. sufre este proceso en un mundo lleno de increible sucesos burocráticos. Increible por la ubicuidad de su ocurrencia, más no por el hecho mismo. Por supuesto que el sistema judicial, y los procesos de justicia en sí, no resultan ser ni los más claros ni mucho menos los más efectivos. Se requiere de mucha documentación, comparecencias, y además, a pesar de estar hablando el mismo idioma, se requiere de un traductor llamado Abogado.
La innovación de Kafka estriva en la narración de la opresión que se siente en el ambiente, de lo inverosímil del suceso, de como los personajes alrededor parecen entender que esta ocurriendo, todos excepto Joseph y por supuesto, el lector.
El final es contudente, solo en ese momento, se respira la libertad de haber terminado el proceso; no más espera, no más vueltas, por fin terminó, y aún así, fue lento e indeciso.
Otro detalle a recalcar, y un tanto divertido, es el comportamiento de los personajes femeninos. Parecen estar atraidas irremediablemente hacia los culpables o el proceso mismo. Lo frustrante aquí, es la indecisión de Joseph, pero probablemente, lo agarron también desprevenido.
Kafka es para mí, uno de los 100 autores que debes leer antes de morir.
Si, por supuesto que eso no tiene nada de raro, sobretodo si es un criminal y lo llevan preso; pero ¿qué ocurre si solo viene a notificarle? Aún no esta preso, no se ha decidido su suerte, tendrá más noticias, por el momento no es posible decirle de qué está acusado, solo podemos decirle que tiene que esperar a que lo contacten.
Joseph K. sufre este proceso en un mundo lleno de increible sucesos burocráticos. Increible por la ubicuidad de su ocurrencia, más no por el hecho mismo. Por supuesto que el sistema judicial, y los procesos de justicia en sí, no resultan ser ni los más claros ni mucho menos los más efectivos. Se requiere de mucha documentación, comparecencias, y además, a pesar de estar hablando el mismo idioma, se requiere de un traductor llamado Abogado.
La innovación de Kafka estriva en la narración de la opresión que se siente en el ambiente, de lo inverosímil del suceso, de como los personajes alrededor parecen entender que esta ocurriendo, todos excepto Joseph y por supuesto, el lector.
El final es contudente, solo en ese momento, se respira la libertad de haber terminado el proceso; no más espera, no más vueltas, por fin terminó, y aún así, fue lento e indeciso.
Otro detalle a recalcar, y un tanto divertido, es el comportamiento de los personajes femeninos. Parecen estar atraidas irremediablemente hacia los culpables o el proceso mismo. Lo frustrante aquí, es la indecisión de Joseph, pero probablemente, lo agarron también desprevenido.
Kafka es para mí, uno de los 100 autores que debes leer antes de morir.
April 20, 2014
Segunda vez que leo este relato para el instituto y, por segunda vez, no me ha gustado.
Entiendo el significado de la obra e incluso del título, pero es un libro tan aburrido y con unos personajes que actúan de una manera tan mezquina e hipócrita que no me proporciona nada.
Hablaré un poco más de él en el próximo Wrap Up de mi canal :)
Entiendo el significado de la obra e incluso del título, pero es un libro tan aburrido y con unos personajes que actúan de una manera tan mezquina e hipócrita que no me proporciona nada.
Hablaré un poco más de él en el próximo Wrap Up de mi canal :)
May 10, 2021
Permasalahan hidup di awal industrialisasi kaum modernis. Kemanusiaan yang tergilas. Esensinya masih sesuai dengan konteks kekinian. Cerita-cerita dalam buku ini berhasil membuat saya takjub pada pengarangnya.
April 11, 2013
It was an interesting way to express the feelings to the psychological situations, really original way to face them.
August 24, 2014
Es uno de los libros más agotadores que he leido
October 3, 2008
Quiza Kafka se tardó dos dias en escribirlo.....pero a mi se me hizo eterno.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews