kafka

I [U]loved[/U] it in highschool. That's all I remember.

I say do it. Just get the Metamorphosis.

I can understand why everyone thinks Metamorphosis is the bomb-diggity, but it didn't really row my boat. As long as you're looking at it from an interpretive point of view, it'll tickle a few of your fancies, but it didn't really leave the lasting impact on me that I expected from all the hype. I've still got a few more of Kafka's books sitting on my shelf, but not quite sure when I'll get around to 'em. The Trial is one of 'em, I've heard that's supposed to be good, and I think Amerika is the other, though it could be The Castle. I can't keep straight which books I have and which ones I intend to buy.

I love The Trial. You should start with that one.

get The Trial if you want to check him out
or The Hunger Artist or In The Penal Colony for a couple short stories
I wouldn't bother with the Metamorphosis until after you've read any of those and decided whether you dig the guy or not

if you do another one to check out is Knut Hansun's Hunger

i saw the movie cause my favorite actress teresa russel was in it, and quite enjoyed it, but the books, uh uh.

The film Kafka was all right, even though i don't know how faithful it is to the spirit of the books.

On the other hand, Orson Welles's [B]The Trial[/B] was a pain to watch.

have you seen [I]Kafka's its a Wonderful Life[/I] with richard grant? funny.

Not yet, but thanks for making me aware of its existence.

Its a short and is on a dvd with three others.

Is it THE Richard E. Grant, the British actor (of [B]Jack & Sarah[/B] fame) ?

Yeah

Promising.

Yeah, it is very funny. You can find it by itself or as [I]Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life and Other Strange Tales[/I] and then you also get [I]The Deal[/I], which is hilarious.

As for the original question, I liked the metamorphosis and the hunger artist. You should check those out, unhygenix.

The Metamorphosis is good. But for try out Kafka, I recommend The Hunter Gracchus or First Sorrow. Both are short stories.

Is Kafka good? Man you don't get to be a classic by being a suck....
Metamorphosis is the standard....The Trial is probably next and whatever else.
You can snag most of these in like a collection of Kafka stories....

Kafka ruined my crotch. But seriously though, I had a professor who said that Metamorphosis was autobiographical, not that he actually turned into an insect, but it was about his relationship with his father or lack thereof.

[QUOTE=meatthinker;904885]Kafka ruined my crotch. But seriously though, I had a professor who said that Metamorphosis was autobiographical, not that he actually turned into an insect, but it was about his relationship with his father or lack thereof.[/QUOTE]
pretentious over analyzation, just from the description i would say its closer to more being about the horrors of puberty and the transition from boy to man.

ok so i picked up a kafka short stories collection 40 some stories for 4 bucks, some of them are insanely short (1-2 pages short!). Once i trudge through the hubert selby novel im reading now i will give this a go! (ah shit i still have to read camus's the stranger)

[QUOTE=Unhygenix;904902]pretentious over analyzation, just from the description i would say its closer to more being about the horrors of puberty and the transition from boy to man.[/QUOTE]

how is it thinking its about a man's reltionship with his father pretentious over analizing, but seeing it as the horrors of puberty from boy to man [i]isn't[/i]
for the record i saw it as both

[QUOTE=nathaniel parker;905019]how is it thinking its about a man's reltionship with his father pretentious over analizing, but seeing it as the horrors of puberty from boy to man [i]isn't[/i]
for the record i saw it as both[/QUOTE]eh your right,neither are pretentious or over analytical.
Theres a good chance both are right.

im about halfway through metamorphosis right now(odd considering ive only had 30 minutes to read anything today) and i love the bizzareness/humor without humor of the entire thing.

[QUOTE=Unhygenix;905398]eh your right,neither are pretentious or over analytical.
Theres a good chance both are right.[/QUOTE]

That's precisely why Metamorphosis has gotten a reputation as a classic. There are so many ways to interpret the symbolism, it's effing ridiculous. Personally, I think it's completely literal. It's about the difficult of unconsciously transmogrifying into a giant cockroach and then having to deal with your family.

Too be honest, I found The Metamorphis to be quite bland. I kept expecting the story to go somewhere. In my opinion Kafka probably got bored with the character and frustrated with his inability to carry the plot any further then began taking his frustration out on paper. What we have is two chapters of excellent character development followed by a TTT (Typed Temper Tantrum) and the character is destroyed as completly as it was created.

I liken it to a comic book artist who spends hours trying to sketch a perfect superhero. Being a perfectionist, it takes the artist several weeks to complete just one sketch, but it is absolutely perfect. With this part out of the way he finally gets to create a storyline for his character. He thinks of a million possible scenarios but none of them seem to do this amazing character justice. Writers block to the 3rd power. Well, let me just start writing and see what will happen. Nothing... Nothing... Nothing... Now you are mad at yourself. Anger... Something bad happens to the character. Ok, now lets think how will he overcome this situation. More writers block. Frustration... Frustration... Frustration... Something even worse happens to the character... Ah, I feel better now. Well, the story is totally unbelievable at this point and my awesome character is now trashed, no more pressure to find the perfect plot. Wow, my creativity is back. Lets start something new...

How about a story where some guy gets off on torturing innocent souls just for the purpose of creating something that is therapeutic and possibly art. Just like I just did with my last character. Does this remind you of another Kafka work? Possibly The Penal Colony.

Yeah it kille d me with boredom.

i liked the metamorphosis alot, it was fun to me, like a dark childrens story.

My interpretations:

1.)The Horrors Puberty
2.)Self Loathing and the lack of closeness with his family
3.)the general idea of a long and drawn out dying period and what it does to the family and the one who is suffering as well.

if you can get ahold of it look for Introducing Kafka
its an illustrated biography by R Crumb
good stuff, Half Price Books usually gots tons of em for 5 bucks

[QUOTE=nathaniel parker;905754]if you can get ahold of it look for Introducing Kafka
its an illustrated biography by R Crumb
good stuff, Half Price Books usually gots tons of em for 5 bucks[/QUOTE]

I enjoyed that "R Crumb" illustrated bio of Kafka. I haven't read the castle yet, should soon I suppose.

I'm no big fan of his work but damn it was just perfectly fit for Kafka