Brain Pain discussion

Franz Kafka was born in Prague in 1883. He spoke and wrote in German. Most of his work was published after he died in 1924.


Wikipedia page for Franz Kafka:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Kafka


Oxford Kafka Research center:

http://www.kafka-research.ox.ac.uk/


Feel free to use this thread to ask questions and post resources about Franz Kafka and his work.

Also, if you’ve written a review of his books, please post a link to share with the group.

Since it 'tis the season, here is a link to Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life.

Please enjoy this heartwarming slice of holiday joy. May it put you in the mood for reading some Kafka in the new year!

Whitney wrote: "Since it 'tis the season, here is a link to Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life.

Please enjoy this heartwarming slice of holiday joy. May it put you in the mood for reading some Kafka in the new ..."

Ich war wirklich besorgt, als ich dachte, arme Jiminy war tot!

I look forward to the discussion of "Description of a Struggle" and everything afterward. I have mostly only lurked this group as most of the books in discussion I've either not read or did read but so long ago I wouldn't have much to add.

Not the case with Kafka, as he's one of the rare ones who gets regular re-reads.

And to the mod: although I haven't contributed in this group, I have been reading it and appreciate your establishing it!

Gregsamsa wrote: "I look forward to the discussion of "Description of a Struggle" and everything afterward. I have mostly only lurked this group as most of the books in discussion I've either not read or did read b..."

Glad to have a veteran along for the read. Please jump into the discussions when you can.

File under Resources:

Free pdf of Collected Stories (downloadable) There are things that will show up in a Google search as a pdf of Kafka's "Description of a Struggle" as well as The Collected Stories that are not those things.*

The TLS printed a pretty comprehensive review of four other critics' work on Kafka, mostly a very critical take on these authors' emphasis on mysticism and sprirituality:
Why We Don't Understand Kafka (forgive the dorky portrait of him)

The Kafka Project is a huge clearinghouse of Kafkanalia and, while pretty Germanocentric, offers a wealth of English language material.




*If the text at this link is not in the public domain, it is provided for entertainment purposes only.

Gregsamsa wrote: "File under Resources:

Free pdf of Collected Stories (downloadable) There are things that will show up in a Google search as a pdf of Kafka's "Description of a Struggle" as well as The Collected S..."

Thanks for the links. The Kafka Project looks great!

I just re-read "Description of a Struggle" and were this group not named BRAIN PAIN I would be wary about starting with it. Still, readers should begin with a caveat in mind, something like "Consider these collected fragments as trial runs for later more polished weirdness."

Even the writer of the introduction to the 1983 Schocken edition wrote of the two first stories "You might do well to skip these first two titles and return to them when initiated. Repeated readings of these grouped fragments have left them, for me, not merely opaque but repellent." Granted, this is from the repellently middlebrow John Updike.

It was a joy, though, to reacquaint myself with that inimitable Kafka process whereby banal events start to seem a little bit off. And then, of course, all the way off.

Rereading "Description..." made me happy, and I'm overall thrilled to be returning to Kafka again. I am also anxious to discuss him and his stories, and I mean that in both the negative and positive sense (am I angstuous?). In some ways Kafka is almost too important to me as a writer, for me to be fully comfortable talking about him, but don't worry, I'll soon be a pest and you'll be asking me to shut up. I also have anxiety that over-analysis is too anti-magic and may threaten to defeat-by-denial that which is most thrilling and essential in Kafka's work.

I'll make an absolute statement in advance, which (in conformity to Kafka's style) I'm very likely to deny or contradict later. But it is this: Kafka (and his character(s)) is the MOST reliable narrator. When he says X, he means X literally and precisely, and nothing else. What may baffle us is that he also says Y, equally literally and precisely, in absolute truth, though X and Y are incompatible and cannot be rationalized. But there is no unreliability, and he is never hinting at Z. (Anyway, that's my approach).

Meanwhile--have we mentioned it before?--there's a David Foster Wallace article on Kafka. You can find a .pdf here, or there are other sources and I think it was in that book about lobsters or something:

http://harpers.org/wp-content/uploads...

I don't like DFW, or I think I don't like him, or I don't think I like him... but he got it mostly right when talking about Kafka, particularly on the point that if you read Kafka without laughing, you're missing something. So to hell with being intimidated by the best writer ever (Kafka, that is)... cut loose and laugh your ass off. (You can cry silently later, when no one is looking).

I'm with you on interpreting Kafka. I think his work is critic-proof, unless you're going to stick to your own subjective reaction which, after all, is what it is and you're always right about at least that.

Like you, I think, I feel he's very very central (and yet somehow impossibly marginal) to my whole concept of literature, above even Joyce and Shakespeare for me (not that my moniker wouldn't give that away or anything). I'm very happy you're along with this read, Zad.

Oddly enough, I've had similar experiences with Kafka as with Flannery O'Connor and Hawthorne. I laughed my head off and people thought I was crazy to think them funny. I think Kafka is hilarious.

Gregsamsa wrote: "I just re-read "Description of a Struggle" and were this group not named BRAIN PAIN I would be wary about starting with it. Still, readers should begin with a caveat in mind, something like "Consi..."

We're big fans of Modernist fragments...

I'm excited for this. I've got to work this into my schedule somehow! I've been meaning to read the stories forever. So many people say good things. Zadignose for one, I seem to remember, all the way last summer, I think.

Lise wrote: "I'm excited for this. I've got to work this into my schedule somehow! I've been meaning to read the stories forever. So many people say good things. Zadignose for one, I seem to remember, all the w..."

Yes, join us Lise!! I treated myself to a nice shiny copy of the collected stories. Looking forward to starting soon.

Is there a consensus on which edition/translation of the works/short stories one should read?

(If it matters: I prefer the dead-tree variety in books.)

Oh, and I'm new too to this group. :)

Navneeth wrote: "Is there a consensus on which edition/translation of the works/short stories one should read?

(If it matters: I prefer the dead-tree variety in books.)

Oh, and I'm new too to this group. :)"

I hadn't thought about translations. I chose this version because it seemed fairly complete:

The Complete Short Stories


...and welcome to the group!!

Jim wrote:
"I hadn't thought about translations. I chose this version because it seemed fairly complete:

The Complete Short Stories


...and welcome to the group!!"

Thank you, Jim.

Without making a comparison, I'll say i greatly enjoyed the experience of reading the Muirs' translations. I'm not sure who else, if anyone, has done most or all or the stories on our schedule.

A friend emailed me this link. Thought y'all might be amused:

http://laughingsquid.com/the-franz-ka...

Hi everyone, I'm planning to join you for this group read aber ich brauche ein bisschen Hilfe! I'd like to get Kafka's short stories in German but I'm not sure which edition I should get.

I saw there's an Originalfassung (Fischer or Critical Edition) but I wonder how significantly it differs from the usual edition and from the one we'll be reading here.

I'm looking at these 3 editions:

- Sämtliche Werke (Suhrkamp Quarto): http://www.amazon.de/S%C3%A4mtliche-W...
- Die Erzählungen: und andere ausgewählte Prosa (Fischer Originalfassung): http://www.amazon.de/Die-Erz%C3%A4hlu...
- Die Erzählungen (Fischer Klassik): http://www.amazon.de/Erz%C3%A4hlungen...

My understanding is that the first one includes Kafka's novels as well as a selection of short stories. The other two are short stories selections by Fischer Verlag (but I'm not sure whether the last one is also Orignialfassung). And I don't know which stories are included in each edition...

Can anyone recommend a book? Vielen Dank!!

Book Portrait wrote: "Hi everyone, I'm planning to join you for this group read aber ich brauche ein bisschen Hilfe! I'd like to get Kafka's short stories in German but I'm not sure which edition I should get.

I saw t..."

This wikipedia page has a table showing English and German titles for some of his works. This should get you started in choosing which volume to buy. If the edition you choose is not complete, you can surely find his work in German at the Project Gutenberg site.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Ka...

Thanks Jim! I'll figure it out and tag along the group read. :)

I can't wait to replace GTA5 with the Franz Kafka game!
I am really excited to discuss his works with this group and learn new ways of appreciating them.

Tia wrote: "I can't wait to replace GTA5 with the Franz Kafka game!
I am really excited to discuss his works with this group and learn new ways of appreciating them."

Who knows? Maybe you can figure out a GTA5/Kafka mash-up game - or maybe smash-up...

I finished "Description of a Struggle" last night, and had a corresponding Kafka dream...

I just Googled GTA 5 and... not what I was expecting! (I don't know what I was expecting exactly... a book trivia challenge or battle of the books or something?)

All right, though, I'll just combine car theft in my mind with the image of K standing between two executioners with a knife or something and meditate on that.

Lol guys.

Words cannot express even for me what K means, so I'm equally dismissive and mmmyum when it comes to K and GTA. Don't make this either/either when I'm gettin' my kinetic ETHICS thang on. Zag, dude, I wanna move there and play LIKESERIOUSLYPLAY there wit ya. We'd be an interminable teeem. Srsly. Or naught: Once my MOM said "I hear there are kids in South Korea who were so absorbed in video games that they died because they forgot to eat and sleep oh my goodness can you imagine?"

andiwaslikewouldyoupleaseshutupyesofcourseIcouldimagine

but that's just cuz I'm not right and I'm lucky to have loud friends who will say so, need be. I know I'm wrong like that but I know it so that's a step maybe?

Best thang is when smarties like ZAG say shit you shoulda thought of....

So, uh... I think we should make a rule that all commentary be about the book and NOT about any audio-visual compliments to the game. (This is me asking the hostess to go easy on the heroin)

Gregsamsa wrote: "(This is me asking the hostess to go easy on the heroin) "

Do you think I put too much in the punch? No wonder the conversation is lagging....

FWIW, in this thread, we can drift into whatever general banter we drift into. In the discussion threads, though, it's all about the book!

I've spent plenty of hours being the weird white guy in a suit, sitting and typing, using Microsoft word to write or edit part of a book in a PC-bang while 30 or 40 other computers around me are occupied with Starcraft, Cart Rider, or some first-person shooter games, while everyone perpetually shouted the same two or three extremely vulgar Korean profanities. I guess that's better than when I spent the same amount of time in the same environment playing illegal poker sites. That reminds me, I miss poker.

Zadignose wrote: "I've spent plenty of hours being the weird white guy in a suit, sitting and typing, using Microsoft word to write or edit part of a book in a PC-bang while 30 or 40 other computers around me are oc..."

"Tales of White-collar Productivity in a Foreign Land"

I think I smell a novel here...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDP77...

I may be the only one, but I found this story difficult. It was like a very bad nightmare. I liked the idea of the character creating reality but it was also frightening (too much power). And the boundaries constantly shifting and/or dissolving. Very scary (I don't need horror movies; I find life frightening enough).

Ellie wrote: "I may be the only one, but I found this story difficult. It was like a very bad nightmare. I liked the idea of the character creating reality but it was also frightening (too much power). And the b..."

Art imitating life...

Be sure to add your comments on Monday when we begin the discussion.

Several years ago, Business Week Magazine ranked Prague's Franz Kafka International Airport last in customer satisfaction, and first as The World's Most Alienating Airport. This is untrue, of course, just funnyness from The Onion, but worth a look.

Henry wrote: "I finally got my copy today."

Huzzah!


@Gregsamsa - Franz Kafka Int'l looks a lot like LAX....

LAX seems positively 3rd world, but when it comes to Kafkaesqueness I'd rank O'Hare way up there.

It's almost "Burrow" time. It's a bit longer than the others, and perhaps a bit dense, but I love it--or did--and look forward to revisiting it. Hope to see y'all there.

A short story from Murakami - Samsa in Love


http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/201...

it's been a while since I've read Kafka and I can't remember who was the translator(s) for the stories I read, but (and I'm sorry if this has been asked before) what would you all suggest as the best translator into English to read? it seems like the translations I read were lacking the despair that Kafka was going for. Any suggestions are welcome and specifically for In the Penal Colony, The Trial and Amerika