What do you think?
Rate this book
The Aeroplanes at Brescia
Tre amici sotto il cielo di Montichiari - in provincia di Brescia - contemplano i primi voli pionieristici, lo sfrecciare di aeroplani nella competizione internazionale di volo del 1909. Non tre amici qualsiasi, ma Franz Kafka, Max Brod e il fratello Otto, in vacanza in Italia, sul lago di Garda. Con entusiasmo, in una sorta di gara letteraria, lo scrittore e il suo biografo Brod narrano impressioni e atmosfere della competizione che richiamò regnanti e intellettuali di un'epoca ormai tramontata. Accanto a quello di Kafka è per la prima volta tradotto il testo dell' con differenze di stile che denotano la diversa statura degli autori. In Appendice le pagine de «La Sentinella Bresciana», giornale locale che ricostruisce quei giorni di settembre nella brughiera.
10 pages, Unknown Binding
First published September 29, 1909
2 people are currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
Franz Kafka
3,372 books39.1k 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 7, 2025
Brescia mention for Bianca! however it’s a lot of babble, and nothing else. Though a moment’s attention for aviators who have to start flying directly in the ocean and can’t start with with a puddle
December 2, 2021
Sweet, I like that Max Brod asked him to write it as competition to get him writing again
June 11, 2022
৯ জুন ২০২২ তারিখে পাঠ করলাম 'ব্রেস্সায় উড়োজাহাজ' নামের ভ্রমণকাহিনী ধাঁচের এই লেখাটি। আসলে তখন কাফকা রাইটার্স ব্লকে ভুগছেন। বন্ধু ম্যাক্স ব্রড বললেন তাহলে একটা লেখা প্রতিযোগিতা করা যাক। যার বদৌলতে ব্রড লিখলেন, Flight week in Brescia আর কাফকা লিখলেন এই লঘু চালের লেখাটি।
শুরুর দিকে ততটা না-জমলেও দ্রুতই নিজেকে খুঁজে নিচ্ছিলেন কাফকা। লিখছিলেন জার্মান সাহিত্যে বিমানচালনাবিষয়ক প্রথম লেখাটি।
কী করে একজন বৈমানিক তার নিয়ন্ত্রণ আসনে বসে একজন লেখকের মতনই বারবার ব্যর্থ হবার পর অবশেষে পায় তার কাঙ্খিত সফলতার স্বাদ। পুরো যাত্রাটা সহজ নয়। পানিতে নামতে হলে যেমন প্রথমে পুকুরে তারপর নদীতে এবং অবশেষে সাগরে নামে সাতারু। কিন্তু আকাশের ক্ষেত্রে তেমন নয়। শুরুতেই মহাসাগরে নামতে হয়। ব্লেরিওর সঙ্গে নিজেকে যেন দেখছেন কাফকা। ব্লেরিও, যিনি অল্প কিছুদিন আগেই ইংলিশ চ্যানেল পাড়ি দিয়েছেন তাকে আকাশের তারকা ছাড়া আর কী ভাবা যায়! যেখানে তিনি আছেন সমতলে। আরও গভীরে শুধু নেমেই চলেছেন।
শুরুর দিকে ততটা না-জমলেও দ্রুতই নিজেকে খুঁজে নিচ্ছিলেন কাফকা। লিখছিলেন জার্মান সাহিত্যে বিমানচালনাবিষয়ক প্রথম লেখাটি।
কী করে একজন বৈমানিক তার নিয়ন্ত্রণ আসনে বসে একজন লেখকের মতনই বারবার ব্যর্থ হবার পর অবশেষে পায় তার কাঙ্খিত সফলতার স্বাদ। পুরো যাত্রাটা সহজ নয়। পানিতে নামতে হলে যেমন প্রথমে পুকুরে তারপর নদীতে এবং অবশেষে সাগরে নামে সাতারু। কিন্তু আকাশের ক্ষেত্রে তেমন নয়। শুরুতেই মহাসাগরে নামতে হয়। ব্লেরিওর সঙ্গে নিজেকে যেন দেখছেন কাফকা। ব্লেরিও, যিনি অল্প কিছুদিন আগেই ইংলিশ চ্যানেল পাড়ি দিয়েছেন তাকে আকাশের তারকা ছাড়া আর কী ভাবা যায়! যেখানে তিনি আছেন সমতলে। আরও গভীরে শুধু নেমেই চলেছেন।
December 25, 2024
a short and relatively sweet story about planes, which is fortunately something i am quite interested in. there are a few quotes here and there that i liked, and i also like how this was a piece that was written because kafka’s friend suggested to get his pen flowing. nifty! if i was alive in the early 1900s i probably would’ve loved to see an aeroplane show
June 26, 2024
It’s a simple story where he recounts the true events of his experience seeing planes fly, I read that he had a hard time picking up his pen and so this is technically the first story he wrote and allowed to be published, it’s a good starting point, I can’t wait to read his other fictional stories
October 12, 2024
Incredibly well written but unfortunately I do not care about 20th Century aircraft expos. Thought the final paragraph where he suggested an Avenger's Initiative for early 1900s pilots was funny though
December 30, 2023
A charming little story
February 24, 2024
those airplanes sure are airplaning
February 4, 2025
interesting historically getting a look at the thoughts of those seeing flight for the first time
February 21, 2025
wasn’t my favorite by kafka, but i love the art of piloting. therefore i enjoyed the descriptions of the aeroplanes and their different journeys in the air.
January 10, 2022
11 Settembre 1909. L’alta società dell’epoca, i primi appassionati di motori ed una moltitudine di curiosi, si ritrovano a Montichiari per assistere al “Circuito Aereo”: una settimana di gare ed esibizioni, alla presenza di alcuni tra i più importanti aviatori dell’epoca. Tra la piccola folla, assiepata nel tratto di campagna trasformato per l’occasione in aerodromo di fortuna e giunta a Montichiari dopo viaggi rocamboleschi, anche il futuro maestro del romanzo psicologico, il praghese Franz Kafka, ed il suo amico fraterno (e più tardi biografo) Max Brod.
“Aeroplani a Brescia”, pubblicato da Morcelliana in una bella edizione finalmente completa a cura di Renato Pettoello, è la raccolta dei reportage realizzati dai poco più che ventenni Franz Kafka e Max Brod, un po’ per gioco e un po’ per sfida, al termine di quella giornata di vacanza memorabile.
Pubblicati per la prima volta insieme (il testo di Max Brod era infatti inedito in Italia, mentre il reportage di Kafka è stato pubblicato più volte negli scorsi anni all’interno di raccolte di scritti dell’autore), e corredati da un interessante apparato iconografico e da due lunghi articoli pubblicati su La Sentinella di allora (che ricostruiscono in maniera più articolata e giornalistica l’atmosfera dell’evento), i reportage degli scrittori boemi forniscono un racconto vivido dell’atmosfera del tempo e di una provincia un po’ “sgangherata” ma ambiziosa.
Puccini, D’Annunzio, principesse più o meno esotiche, conti (tra cui il presidente del Comitato, Conte Oldofredi), star dell’aviazione italiana francese e statunitense ed un pubblico zeppo di “forestieri” provenienti da oltre le Alpi come dal resto del Regno: l’ombelico del mondo, in quel settembre del 1909, sembra fosse proprio accampato a Montichiari.
Di sicuro, come evidente anche nel racconto di Kafka e Brod, il Circuito Aereo di Montichiari fu un evento non solo importante ma anche emblematico.
Simbolo di un’epoca, la cosiddetta Belle époque, “drogata” dal mito del progresso, dalla una joie de vivre e dall’affermazione della macchina, della globalizzazione (interessante l’accenno all’impegno di D’Annunzio nel trasporre in italiano i termini aeronautici coniati in francese, ma anche il profluvio di termini stranieri di cui sono infarciti i pezzi de La Sentinella) e della società di massa rappresentata da una folla opprimente e ovunque accalcata.
La recensione completa la trovate qua
https://www.bresciasilegge.it/1909-ae...
“Aeroplani a Brescia”, pubblicato da Morcelliana in una bella edizione finalmente completa a cura di Renato Pettoello, è la raccolta dei reportage realizzati dai poco più che ventenni Franz Kafka e Max Brod, un po’ per gioco e un po’ per sfida, al termine di quella giornata di vacanza memorabile.
Pubblicati per la prima volta insieme (il testo di Max Brod era infatti inedito in Italia, mentre il reportage di Kafka è stato pubblicato più volte negli scorsi anni all’interno di raccolte di scritti dell’autore), e corredati da un interessante apparato iconografico e da due lunghi articoli pubblicati su La Sentinella di allora (che ricostruiscono in maniera più articolata e giornalistica l’atmosfera dell’evento), i reportage degli scrittori boemi forniscono un racconto vivido dell’atmosfera del tempo e di una provincia un po’ “sgangherata” ma ambiziosa.
Puccini, D’Annunzio, principesse più o meno esotiche, conti (tra cui il presidente del Comitato, Conte Oldofredi), star dell’aviazione italiana francese e statunitense ed un pubblico zeppo di “forestieri” provenienti da oltre le Alpi come dal resto del Regno: l’ombelico del mondo, in quel settembre del 1909, sembra fosse proprio accampato a Montichiari.
Di sicuro, come evidente anche nel racconto di Kafka e Brod, il Circuito Aereo di Montichiari fu un evento non solo importante ma anche emblematico.
Simbolo di un’epoca, la cosiddetta Belle époque, “drogata” dal mito del progresso, dalla una joie de vivre e dall’affermazione della macchina, della globalizzazione (interessante l’accenno all’impegno di D’Annunzio nel trasporre in italiano i termini aeronautici coniati in francese, ma anche il profluvio di termini stranieri di cui sono infarciti i pezzi de La Sentinella) e della società di massa rappresentata da una folla opprimente e ovunque accalcata.
La recensione completa la trovate qua
https://www.bresciasilegge.it/1909-ae...
September 24, 2023
Intressant läsning om man som jag är ett hardcore Kafka-fan, men inte något jag hade rekommenderat för förstagångs-Kafkaläsare. En samling korta texter där vissa är något ointressanta, andra är frustrerande ofullbordade, och några (På avvägar i byn, Uppe på vinden, Törnesnåret mfl.) är Kafka i högform.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews