Franz Kafka.

Rowohlts Monographien #50649

by Klaus Wagenbach

In Kafka's writing, Albert Camus tells us, we travel "to the limits of human thought." And in this book, the world's leading Kafka authority conducts us to the deepest reaches of Kafka's own troubled psyche, to reveal the inner workings of the man who gave his name to a central facet of modern experience, the Kafkaesque. Klaus Wagenbach, who wrote the first major critical biography of Kafka, draws upon a wealth of new and recent information to produce a concise but finely nuanced portrait of the author, an ideal introduction to this quintessential figure of modernity.

With extensive reference to Kafka's extraordinary letters and diaries, Wagenbach shows us the author of Metamorphosis and The Trial perpetually caught between the irresistible attractions of the world and his ruthless desire for solitude and isolation. It was this tension, Wagenbach tells us, that gave Kafka's writing its uncanny quality and that haunted his intense, unresolved relationships with women. And it was in this tension that both his misery and mastery inhered, making his one of the most painfully powerful voices of the experience of the twentieth century.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, German Literature

170 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

Klaus Wagenbach, founder of Wagenbach Verlag, is a specialist on Kafka. In 1994 he was made Honorary Professor of Modern German Literature at the Free University of Berlin, and has been awarded numerous other honors.

Reviews

[Pollo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una excelente biografía, considerada la mejor sobre el autor checo, con hartas fotos y datos caletas.

[Fernando · Rating 5 out of 5]

Creo que este es el último libro que me faltaba conseguir sobre y acerca de Franz Kafka.
Un trabajo de investigación fotográfica y biográfica de Klaus Wagenbach, uno de los mejores biógrafos del gigante checo en el que podemos encontrar fotos nunca vistas de Kafka así también como de dos de sus amores ocultos: Julie Wohrycek y Grete Bloch.
Este libro es un buen complemento de otro muy interesante publicado por Wagenbach que se llama "La Praga de Kafka".
Altamente recomendable tanto para los lectores kafkianos como para aquellos que quieran conocer acerca de su vida.

[Cecily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brief, glossy biog, with coloured footnotes and one-sentence summary at the bottom of each page. Good for a quick catch-up, though some of the chronology jumps about and he underplays the significance of the women in his life. However, it is quite good on expanding background details of people, places and institutions that were significant in his life.

See my Kafka-related bookshelf for other works by and about Kafka: HERE.

[Mateicee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eine sehr angenehme Monografie zum lesen. Kafka wird als eine sehr passive Person dargestellt. Er ist "ein Nackter unter Angezogenen", fühlt sich seiner Welt immer abgeschlossen. So wird er auch wahrgenommen. Dabei war er ein hochsensibler Mensch der mit seiner Umwelt überfordert war.

Ich fand es erstaunlich wie autobiografisch seine Werke doch sind hatte ich so nicht erwartet.

[Κατερίνα Μάγνη · Rating 5 out of 5]

Η μελέτη της ζωής και του έργου του Κάφκα από τον Wagenbach είναι ενδελεχής και το βιβλίο αυτό αποτελεί ένα ιδανικό σύμβουλο για την πληρέστερη κατανόηση ενός συγγραφέα που κατέχει ειδικό βάρος στη λογοτεχνία χάρη σε όλα του τα γραπτά (ημερολόγια, γράμματα και βιβλία).

http://anagnoseisvivlion.wordpress.co...

[Marc Lamot]

This is foremost a collection of photos of Kafka, his family and the places where he stayed. I guess it's great for the fans!

[David Ramirer · Rating 4 out of 5]

wagenbachs bildmonographie zu franz kafka ist ein gut lesbarer einstieg in kafkas werk: sie ist rasch gelesen, mit vielen zitaten und berichten zu den wesentlichen eckpunkten dieses leider so kurzen schriftstellerlebens.
die fotos und dokumente, die den text illustrieren, geben auratische unterstützung und runden den text sehr gut ab.

jedoch hätte die monographie an einigen stellen mehr auf die schlüsselwerke eingehen können, zumindest ihre rezeption detaillieren, oder ihre struktur beleuchten. dann wäre sie perfekt in meinem sinne gewesen. daher ein stern abzug.

[Laura L. Van Dam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kafka fue en la adolescencia uno de mis escritores favoritos. Sin embargo no había leído hasta ahora ninguna biografía.

Después de investigar sobre las numerosas biografías existentes, me decidí por ésta, que tenía muy buenas críticas y además muchas fotos inéditas. Fue difícil conseguirla y salía muy cara, hasta que encontré en Mercadolibre un ejemplar usado a un precio razonable... sólo para llevarme terrible desilusión cuando llegó y descubrí que la copia estaba en portugués.

Así que a pesar de su brevedad me fue muy engorrosa de leer y aún con la invaluable ayuda de Google Translate hay partes que no entendí del todo. Las fotos, al menos, son de muy buena calidad, y hay algunos hechos de la vida del escritor que es la primera vez que los leo.

Quedará como tarea leer otra biografía para completar el panorama.

[Lea Bascha · Rating 4 out of 5]

He’s just like me fr

[Dreamer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This biography had me a little confused. I have read other biographies too, and everything was pretty understandable, but this one was a little messed up. It described some years, then jumped to note some events that happened later in his life, and then returned to the chronological line. It did not feel that much like a biography.. It felt mostly like a study in Kafka. It gave more attention to his inner world, rather to his life. I know that inner world is quite important itself, but when I decided to read this book, I wantd to learn about his life. I can't say that trully happened. Anyway, there are probably better written biographies for Kafka out there, so I would suggest you to find another one, if you are intrested to learn about his life.

[Ilze · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's strange to think that Kafka didn't have a clue what he wanted to be by the time he left school. In fact, I got the feeling he accidentally stumbled across the need to write, and once he started, he couldn't stop. It's just a pity that he didn't have any faith in his work. If it wasn't for Max Brod we wouldn't have half of Kafka's fiction we have today because he wanted it all destroyed after his death (due to TB).

[Ria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book does a fantastic job of exploring Kafka's mental turmoil. I've always wondered at his paranoia and it's thoroughly explored through excerpts from his own diaries and letters. Anyone who wants to understand Kafka more personally should read this.

[Wakinglife]

Kâmuran Şipal...

[Yasemin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly recommend if you like Kafka.

[Maurizio Manco · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Consideravo i desideri che avevo riguardo alla vita. Risultò che il più importante, o comunque il più allettante, era quello di pervenire a una visione della vita... nella quale la vita, pur conservando il suo naturale e gravoso cadere e risalire, nello stesso tempo... potesse essere vista come un nulla, un sogno, un essere sospesi." (p. 38)

"Scrivere, questa atroce occupazione, della quale, con somma infelicità, devo ora fare a meno." (p. 133)

[Narjis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a huga Kafka fan. so when i saw this books . a Photo biographic i had to buy it and read it

[Debora Perra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interessante biografia, ricca di documenti

[Agostinho Matos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Biografia do escritor boêmio de língua alemã Franz Kafka, autor de romances e contos, considerado pelos críticos como um dos escritores mais influentes do século XX.

[Damian Wolf Wagabunda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dobrze czytająca się biografia jednego z najbliższych mi pisarzy. Utwierdziłem się, jak ciężkie życie miał Kafka i jak bardzo jego rozterki życiowe są mi bliskie.

[David Pagnanelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spiegare la vita di un genio non è facile… ha cercato di farlo a tappe con buoni risultati. K tutto sommato non si nascondeva cercando di creare un personaggio, era semplicemente lui.