Franz Kafka in Context

Literature in Context

by Carolin Duttlinger (Editor)

Franz Kafka (1883-1924) lived through one of the most turbulent periods in modern history, witnessing a world war, the dissolution of an empire and the foundation of a new nation state. But the early twentieth century was also a time of social progress and aesthetic experimentation. Kafka's novels and short stories reflect their author's keen but critical engagement with the big questions of his time, and yet often Kafka is still cast as a solitary figure with little or no connection to his age. Franz Kafka in Context aims to redress this perception. In thirty-five short, accessible essays, leading international scholars explore Kafka's personal and working life, his reception of art and culture, his engagement with political and social issues, and his ongoing reception and influence. Together they offer a nuanced and historically grounded image of a writer whose work continues to fascinate readers from all backgrounds.

363 pages, Paperback

Published July 11, 2019

Reviews

[Liam Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read it slowly over the course of a few months around some other books and it is really amazing. The scholarship and sheer volume of time and knowledge that you get from these people is just exceptional and I can honestly say that a thorough read of this along with the major novels would get you further than 90% of the Kafka scholars in my graduating Oxford class (including me lmao).

Part 4 was a little too far away from the texts for me and became the type of - oxford academic evangelizing walther benjamin himself eviscerating kracauer himself shading max brod himself misinterpreting the manuscript we never got to read - that really made some of the Oxford course a bit of a slog. Parts 1-3 are very Kafka-focused and very close to the texts, only part 4 becomes a survey of secondary and tertiary sources, and you can read selectively from Part 4 with no major repercussions. As a dog-whistle I use, the words 'Brentano', 'Benjamin', 'Adorno' do not appear outside of Part 4, if you catch my drift <3

[Alex Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gives a bunch of interesting context as you might imagine.

This is a collection of essays so the style of writing varies but the common factor is an almost unbearably self absorbed academic style. Some sentences have to be read 5 or 6 times they are so padded with thesaurus waffle.

I like the context but sometimes it feels like these contributors were paid by the word and need to give a brief history of any noun they reference.

A shame because one of the appeals of Kafka is his succinctness and ordinary language.

[Reader]

great for info 🤓🤓🤓🤓🤓