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Brief an den Vater / Das Urteil
Kafkas Brief an den Vater: eines der intimsten Zeugnisse des Autors und gleichzeitig von der für Kafka so typischen Sprachmächtigkeit. Was aus dem Brief spricht, der seinen Adressaten nie erreichte, ist ein Mensch, der stetig an sich zweifelt, gefangen in einer Hassliebe zum Vater, von dem er sich zeitlebens nicht lösen konnte. Dabei durchzieht den Text neben anklagenden Tönen auch leise Ironie, der Schrei nach Anerkennung, der dem Leser immer wieder die Sprache verschlägt. Passend dazu enthält der Band die Erzählung Das Urteil.
Für den, der noch tiefer in die Texte eintauchen möchte, hat der Kafka-Experte Dieter Lamping Anmerkungen, ein Nachwort und eine Zeittafel verfasst. Erlesen ausgestattet, mit Bildern aus der Zeit. Eine wahre Kostbarkeit.
Für den, der noch tiefer in die Texte eintauchen möchte, hat der Kafka-Experte Dieter Lamping Anmerkungen, ein Nachwort und eine Zeittafel verfasst. Erlesen ausgestattet, mit Bildern aus der Zeit. Eine wahre Kostbarkeit.
173 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2016
6 people are currently reading
80 people want to read
About the author
Franz Kafka
3,498 books39.3k 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 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 28, 2022
Brief an den Vater: 4⭐
Das Urteil: 2,5⭐
Das Urteil: 2,5⭐
January 7, 2019
Lettera al padre, di Franz Kafka. Ho appena terminato di leggere questa lettera lucida e disperata che l'autore indirizza al padre ma solo idealmente: non gliela consegnerà mai.
Mi sono immersa in un'atmosfera cupa, dettata dalle ragioni e in parte dal vittimismo dello scrittore, che ha dimostrato quanto tutte le sofferenze patite, in realtà, gli siano state in qualche modo utili a diventare un letterato.
Sofferenze patite o esasperate dalla sensibilità, (o dalla teatralità sentimentale)?
Molti passi sono squarci di verità e, tra tutti, questo mi è rimasto impresso:
"Ammetto che tra noi c'è stata lotta, ma esistono due modi di lottare: uno cavalleresco dove si misurano le forze di avversari autonomi, ognuno combatte per sé, perde per sé, vince per sé. E c'è la lotta dell'insetto che non solo punge, ma al tempo stesso succhia il sangue per mantenersi in vita. Costui è il vero soldato di carriera, e così sei tu. Sei incapace di vivere: ma per poterti sistemare comodamente, senza pensieri e senza rimorsi in questa tua incapacità, vuoi dimostrare che io ti ho tolto ogni forza vitale e me la sono infilata in tasca. E dunque, cosa t'importa di essere inetto, tanto il responsabile sono io, tu ti metti sdraiato tutto tranquillo e ti fai trascinare da me, fisicamente e spiritualmente, attraverso la vita. [...] In fondo però, qui e in tutto il resto, sei riuscito solo a dimostrare che tutti i miei rimproveri erano giustificati, e che ne manca uno particolarmente fondato, vale a dire quello dell'insincerità, del servilismo e del parassitismo".
Si può dare un giudizio su una pietra miliare come questa? Direi di no.
Mi sono immersa in un'atmosfera cupa, dettata dalle ragioni e in parte dal vittimismo dello scrittore, che ha dimostrato quanto tutte le sofferenze patite, in realtà, gli siano state in qualche modo utili a diventare un letterato.
Sofferenze patite o esasperate dalla sensibilità, (o dalla teatralità sentimentale)?
Molti passi sono squarci di verità e, tra tutti, questo mi è rimasto impresso:
"Ammetto che tra noi c'è stata lotta, ma esistono due modi di lottare: uno cavalleresco dove si misurano le forze di avversari autonomi, ognuno combatte per sé, perde per sé, vince per sé. E c'è la lotta dell'insetto che non solo punge, ma al tempo stesso succhia il sangue per mantenersi in vita. Costui è il vero soldato di carriera, e così sei tu. Sei incapace di vivere: ma per poterti sistemare comodamente, senza pensieri e senza rimorsi in questa tua incapacità, vuoi dimostrare che io ti ho tolto ogni forza vitale e me la sono infilata in tasca. E dunque, cosa t'importa di essere inetto, tanto il responsabile sono io, tu ti metti sdraiato tutto tranquillo e ti fai trascinare da me, fisicamente e spiritualmente, attraverso la vita. [...] In fondo però, qui e in tutto il resto, sei riuscito solo a dimostrare che tutti i miei rimproveri erano giustificati, e che ne manca uno particolarmente fondato, vale a dire quello dell'insincerità, del servilismo e del parassitismo".
Si può dare un giudizio su una pietra miliare come questa? Direi di no.
March 29, 2018
Storia triste di un Kafka che non riesce a specchiarsi nella propria storia. Una paternità opprimente e castrante.
June 16, 2018
trovo che sia fondamentale leggere prima la lettera e poi la condanna, altrimenti non si capisce.
December 11, 2020
Accurate. I had never read a book that was able to describe so well and so accurately a person and the relationship between a son and this tipe of father.
July 13, 2018
"Das Urteil"
A short but very profound story about different aspects:
1. The relationship between father and son.
2. How we change our emotions and thoughts quickly - we can go from empathy and generosity to anger, or from love to hate in a matter of seconds.
3. The guilt we carry from the most absurd things.
4. How each individual lives in their own world, with their own visions and selfishness.
5. The guilt that each one carries, however absurd it may be.
6. The verdict we impose on ourselves and others, by a constant judgment by our own references.
7. The place of power where we place ourselves over others - through social hierarchies (such as the relationship of father and son) and the ideas we develop, for example the supposed "pity" we feel for others, we constantly put ourselves above of others.
8. The different characters we create from ourselves that we show at work, in society and at home, in our intimacy.
9. The "well of vanity" that we are.
Around all of this, there are other issues constantly present in Kafka's stories: alienation, condemnation and absurd condemnation.
The narrative revolves around a character who becomes engaged and decides to tell his or her engagement to a friend who moved to another city and who is experiencing difficulties and who does not want to return to his hometown because of the shame of not having given in nothing in life.
The protagonist does not want to tell the friend of his engagement not to make him more unhappy. Georg works and lives with his father, a widowed and old man.
Most of the story takes place in a dark room, with the windows closed, in a conversation between the father and son about Georg's decision to tell his friend about his engagement and the speeches his father makes to him in the light of that event.
As in other stories, Kafka provokes to life the selfish proportions that defy and define the limits of itself: its horizon, its hopes, expectations, memories and depravations, reaching the end of itself: the absurd meaning.
____
"O Veredito"
Uma história curta, mas muito profunda sobre diferentes aspectos:
1. A relação entre pai e filho.
2. Como mudamos de emoção e de pensamentos rapidamente - podemos ir da empatia e da generosidade à raiva, ou do amor ao ódio em questão de segundos.
3. A culpa que carregamos das coisas mais absurdas.
4. Como cada indivíduo vive em seu próprio mundo, com suas próprias visões e egoísmo.
5. A culpa que cada um carrega, por mais absurda que ela seja.
6. O veredito que impomos à nós mesmos e aos outros, por um julgamento constante por nossas próprias referências.
7. O lugar de poder onde colocamos nós mesmos sobre os demais - através de hierarquias sociais (como a relação de pai e filho) e sobre as idéias que desenvolvemos, por exemplo a suposta "pena" que sentimos pelos outros, constantemente nos colocamos acima dos demais.
8. Os diferentes personagens que criamos de nós mesmos que mostramos no trabalho, na sociedade e em casa, na nossa intimidade.
9. O "poço de vaidade" que somos.
Em torno de tudo isso, há outras questões constantemente presentes nas histórias de Kafka: a alienação, a condenação e a condenação absurda.
A narrativa gira em torno de um personagem que torna-se noivo e decide contar ou não seu noivado a um amigo que mudou-se para outra cidade e que passa por dificuldades e que não quer retornar à sua cidade de origem pela vergonha de não ter dado certo em nada na vida.
O protagonista não quer contar ao amigo de seu noivado para não deixá-lo mais infeliz. Georg trabalha e mora com o pai, um homem viúvo e já velho.
A maior parte da história se passa dentro de um quarto escuro, com as janelas fechadas, numa conversa entre o pai e o filho sobre a decisão de Georg contar do noivado ao amigo e os discursos que o pai faz para ele em função desse acontecimento.
Como em outras histórias, Kafka provoca apontando à vida as proporções egoístas que desafiam e definem os limites dela mesma: seu horizonte, suas esperanças, expectativas, memórias e depravações, chegando ao fim dela mesma: o absurdo que se significa.
A short but very profound story about different aspects:
1. The relationship between father and son.
2. How we change our emotions and thoughts quickly - we can go from empathy and generosity to anger, or from love to hate in a matter of seconds.
3. The guilt we carry from the most absurd things.
4. How each individual lives in their own world, with their own visions and selfishness.
5. The guilt that each one carries, however absurd it may be.
6. The verdict we impose on ourselves and others, by a constant judgment by our own references.
7. The place of power where we place ourselves over others - through social hierarchies (such as the relationship of father and son) and the ideas we develop, for example the supposed "pity" we feel for others, we constantly put ourselves above of others.
8. The different characters we create from ourselves that we show at work, in society and at home, in our intimacy.
9. The "well of vanity" that we are.
Around all of this, there are other issues constantly present in Kafka's stories: alienation, condemnation and absurd condemnation.
The narrative revolves around a character who becomes engaged and decides to tell his or her engagement to a friend who moved to another city and who is experiencing difficulties and who does not want to return to his hometown because of the shame of not having given in nothing in life.
The protagonist does not want to tell the friend of his engagement not to make him more unhappy. Georg works and lives with his father, a widowed and old man.
Most of the story takes place in a dark room, with the windows closed, in a conversation between the father and son about Georg's decision to tell his friend about his engagement and the speeches his father makes to him in the light of that event.
As in other stories, Kafka provokes to life the selfish proportions that defy and define the limits of itself: its horizon, its hopes, expectations, memories and depravations, reaching the end of itself: the absurd meaning.
____
"O Veredito"
Uma história curta, mas muito profunda sobre diferentes aspectos:
1. A relação entre pai e filho.
2. Como mudamos de emoção e de pensamentos rapidamente - podemos ir da empatia e da generosidade à raiva, ou do amor ao ódio em questão de segundos.
3. A culpa que carregamos das coisas mais absurdas.
4. Como cada indivíduo vive em seu próprio mundo, com suas próprias visões e egoísmo.
5. A culpa que cada um carrega, por mais absurda que ela seja.
6. O veredito que impomos à nós mesmos e aos outros, por um julgamento constante por nossas próprias referências.
7. O lugar de poder onde colocamos nós mesmos sobre os demais - através de hierarquias sociais (como a relação de pai e filho) e sobre as idéias que desenvolvemos, por exemplo a suposta "pena" que sentimos pelos outros, constantemente nos colocamos acima dos demais.
8. Os diferentes personagens que criamos de nós mesmos que mostramos no trabalho, na sociedade e em casa, na nossa intimidade.
9. O "poço de vaidade" que somos.
Em torno de tudo isso, há outras questões constantemente presentes nas histórias de Kafka: a alienação, a condenação e a condenação absurda.
A narrativa gira em torno de um personagem que torna-se noivo e decide contar ou não seu noivado a um amigo que mudou-se para outra cidade e que passa por dificuldades e que não quer retornar à sua cidade de origem pela vergonha de não ter dado certo em nada na vida.
O protagonista não quer contar ao amigo de seu noivado para não deixá-lo mais infeliz. Georg trabalha e mora com o pai, um homem viúvo e já velho.
A maior parte da história se passa dentro de um quarto escuro, com as janelas fechadas, numa conversa entre o pai e o filho sobre a decisão de Georg contar do noivado ao amigo e os discursos que o pai faz para ele em função desse acontecimento.
Como em outras histórias, Kafka provoca apontando à vida as proporções egoístas que desafiam e definem os limites dela mesma: seu horizonte, suas esperanças, expectativas, memórias e depravações, chegando ao fim dela mesma: o absurdo que se significa.
March 7, 2024
Was ein Akt
Das Urteil, der Brief an den Vater plus Tagebuch einträge und Briefe an seine ehemaligen Lover
Es gehört einfach zusammen, die kann man nicht einzeln lesen (also das Urteil schon aber die parallelen uff)
Das Urteil würde ich jedem empfehlen ist eine Kurzgeschichte über eine Vater sohn Beziehung die ein paar Wendungen in sich hat aber naja
Der Brief an den Vater
Verrückt einfach crazy
Die daddy issues waren so am start. Gruselig wie stark ich mich in ihm wieder gefunden habe und dann wiederum auch wieder nicht.
Unglaublich was er da schreibt
Wie er es literarisch darstellt unglaublich
In den Tagebuch einträgen und briefen hat Kafka beides davor ein bisschen erklärt und Kontext zu gegeben also eine schöne Ergänzung
Plus ein guter Einblick in Briefe an Milena weil man jetzt einen kleinen Einblick hat wie er seinen Lovern Briefe geschrieben hat yk
Ganz am Ende waren da noch Kommentare und kinda Interpretationen von so Bres, die haben das alles ein bisschen in die länge gezogen aber auch jut 👍
Ka wie ich das ganze bewerten soll war auf jeden Fall mega tho
Das Urteil, der Brief an den Vater plus Tagebuch einträge und Briefe an seine ehemaligen Lover
Es gehört einfach zusammen, die kann man nicht einzeln lesen (also das Urteil schon aber die parallelen uff)
Das Urteil würde ich jedem empfehlen ist eine Kurzgeschichte über eine Vater sohn Beziehung die ein paar Wendungen in sich hat aber naja
Der Brief an den Vater
Verrückt einfach crazy
Die daddy issues waren so am start. Gruselig wie stark ich mich in ihm wieder gefunden habe und dann wiederum auch wieder nicht.
Unglaublich was er da schreibt
Wie er es literarisch darstellt unglaublich
In den Tagebuch einträgen und briefen hat Kafka beides davor ein bisschen erklärt und Kontext zu gegeben also eine schöne Ergänzung
Plus ein guter Einblick in Briefe an Milena weil man jetzt einen kleinen Einblick hat wie er seinen Lovern Briefe geschrieben hat yk
Ganz am Ende waren da noch Kommentare und kinda Interpretationen von so Bres, die haben das alles ein bisschen in die länge gezogen aber auch jut 👍
Ka wie ich das ganze bewerten soll war auf jeden Fall mega tho
July 27, 2025
L'intera lettera è proprio come una pagina di un diario che ognuno di noi potrebbe scrivere. Kafka è in grado di descrivere il suo rapporto col padre in un modo molto sincero e triste, facendo entrare il lettore in empatia con lui. Il racconto "La condanna" sintetizza in pieno la lettera, facendoci capire ancora meglio come fosse questo rapporto. La cosa più brutta è che questa lettera non sia mai stata consegnata al destinatario...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 27, 2019
Lettera scritta benissimo,. È stato emozionante e commovente leggere questo libro
June 27, 2023
alexa play daddy issues by the neighbourhood
August 1, 2024
lettera al padre: 3 | la condanna: 4
February 3, 2026
kafka ti odio
March 5, 2026
mi aspettavo di piu
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews