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The Complete Stories Of Franz Kafka
''The Complete Stories of Franz Kafka'' is a compilation of all of Kafka's short stories. With the exception of three novels (''The Trial'', '' The Castle'' and '' Amerika''), this collection includes all of his narrative work. The book was originally edited by Nahum N. Glatzer and published by Schocken Books in 1971. It was reprinted in 1995 with an introduction by John Updike. The collection includes all the works published during Kafka's lifetime, with the exception of '' The Stoker'' which is usually incorporated as the first chapter of his unfinished novel ''Amerika''. Some of the stories included in the book are fragmented or in various states of incompletion. Most of the stories are translated by Willa and Edwin Muir, with occasional translations by Tania and James Stern. Several fables, parables and philosophical pieces are not included in this collection, as they were never meant to be independent stories or never intended for publication. These can be found in Kafka' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edwin Muir
Edwin Muir CBE (15 May 1887 – 3 January 1959) was a Scottish poet, novelist and translator. Born on a farm in Deerness, a parish of Orkney, Scotland, he is remembered for his deeply felt and vivid poetry written in plain language and with few stylistic preoccupations. Biography Muir was born at the farm of Folly in Deerness, the same parish in which his mother was born. The family then moved to the island of Wyre, followed by a return to the Mainland, Orkney. In 1901, when he was 14, his father lost his farm, and the family moved to Glasgow. In quick succession his father, two brothers, and his mother died within the space of a few years. His life as a young man was a depressing experience, and involved a raft of unpleasant jobs in factories and offices, including working in a factory that turned bones into charcoal. "He suffered psychologically in a most destructive way, although perhaps the poet of later years benefitted from these experiences as much as from his Orkne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wedding Preparations In The Country
"Wedding Preparations in the Country" (German: "Hochzeitsvorbereitungen auf dem Lande") is an incomplete work by Franz Kafka which depicts in great detail the journey of the groom, Raban, travelling to the country to meet his future wife, Betty. Written between 1907 and 1908, three fragments with missing pages have survived, and, as with most of Kafka's work, they were published after his death by his friend Max Brod. According to Brod, Kafka's intention was to complete the story as a novel. An English translation of the story appears in ''The Complete Stories of Franz Kafka ''The Complete Stories of Franz Kafka'' is a compilation of all of Kafka's short stories. With the exception of three novels (''The Trial'', '' The Castle'' and '' Amerika''), this collection includes all of his narrative work. The book was origi ...''. References External links * Unfinished novels Short stories by Franz Kafka Secker & Warburg books Books published posthumously 1954 novels [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Investigations Of A Dog
"Investigations of a Dog" (German: "Forschungen eines Hundes") is a short story by Franz Kafka written in 1922. It was published posthumously in '' Beim Bau der Chinesischen Mauer'' (Berlin, 1931). The first English translation by Willa and Edwin Muir was published by Martin Secker in London in 1933. It appeared in '' The Great Wall of China. Stories and Reflections'' (New York City: Schocken Books, 1946). Told from the perspective of a dog, the story concerns the nature and limits of knowledge, by way of the dog's inquiries into the practices of his culture. "Investigations of a Dog" was written in September and October 1922, soon after Kafka ended work on his unfinished novel The Castle. Similar to other Kafka stories such as "A Report to an Academy", " Josephine the Singer", and " The Burrow", the protagonist is an animal. Plot The unnamed narrator, a dog, recounts a number of episodes from its past, in which it used quasi-scientific and rational methods to resolve basic que ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Hunger Artist
"A Hunger Artist" (German: "Ein Hungerkünstler") is a short story by Franz Kafka first published in '' Die neue Rundschau'' in 1922. The story was also included in the collection ''A Hunger Artist'' (''Ein Hungerkünstler''), the last book Kafka prepared for publication, which was printed by ''Verlag Die Schmiede'' shortly after his death. The protagonist, a hunger artist who experiences the decline in appreciation of his craft, is typically Kafkaesque: an individual marginalized and victimized by society at large. "A Hunger Artist" explores themes such as death, art, isolation, asceticism, spiritual poverty, futility, personal failure and the corruption of human relationships. The title of the story has also been translated as "A Fasting Artist" and "A Starvation Artist". Plot "A Hunger Artist" is told retrospectively through third-person narration. The narrator looks back several decades from "today" to a time when the public marveled at the professional hunger artist and t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Refusal
"The Refusal" (German: "Die Abweisung"), also known as "Unser Städtchen liegt …", is a short story by Franz Kafka. Written in the autumn of 1920, it was not published in Kafka's lifetime. Overview The story of "Die Abweisung" involves the narration of a young boy living in a small town that is fairly distanced from its capital. The boy reflects on how the town's inhabitants humbly submit to orders issued by the capital and are led by the tax-collector, a man with the rank of colonel. The boy goes into great detail describing the soldiers that uphold the tax-collectors law, and how they appear inhuman to the public and seem unable to speak their language. In times of crisis, the town always appeals to the colonel for government aid, and if it is anything serious, it is always refused. The final paragraph describes the narrator's observation that it is due to this situation that '...young people roughly between seventeen and twenty,' begin to feel discontent and find revolutionary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Report To An Academy
"A Report to an Academy" (German: "Ein Bericht für eine Akademie") is a short story by Franz Kafka, written and published in 1917. In the story, an ape named Red Peter, who has learned to behave like a human, presents to an academy the story of how he effected his transformation. The story was first published by Martin Buber in the German monthly ''Der Jude'', along with another of Kafka's stories, "Jackals and Arabs" ("Schakale und Araber"). The story appeared again in a 1919 collection titled '' Ein Landarzt'' (''A Country Doctor''). Plot The narrator, speaking before a scientific conference, describes his former life as an ape. His story begins in a West African jungle, in which a hunting expedition shoots and captures him. Caged on a ship for his voyage to Europe, he finds himself for the first time without the freedom to move as he will. Needing to escape from this situation, he studies the habits of the crew, and imitates them with surprising ease; he reports encountering par ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Great Wall Of China (Kafka)
"The Great Wall of China" (original title "Beim Bau der Chinesischen Mauer", literally ''At the Construction of the Great Wall of China'') is a short story by Franz Kafka. While written in 1917, it was not published until 1930, seven years after his death. Its first publication occurred in '' Der Morgen'', a German literary magazine. A year later, Max Brod included it in '' Beim Bau der Chinesischen Mauer'', the first posthumous collection of short stories by Franz Kafka. Contained within the story is a parable that was separately published as "A Message from the Emperor" ("Eine kaiserliche Botschaft") in 1919 in the collection '' Ein Landarzt'' (''A Country Doctor''). Some sub-themes of the story include why the wall was built piecemeal (in small sections in many different places), the relationship of the Chinese with the past and the present and the emperor's imperceptible presence. The story is told in the first person by an older man from a southern province. The first Englis ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Hunter Gracchus
"The Hunter Gracchus" (German: "Der Jäger Gracchus") is a short story by Franz Kafka. The story presents a boat carrying the long-dead Hunter Gracchus as it arrives at a port. The mayor of Riva meets Gracchus, who gives him an account of his death while hunting, and explains that he is destined to wander aimlessly and eternally over the seas. An additional fragment presents an extended dialogue between Gracchus and an unnamed interviewer, presumably the same mayor. Written in the first half of 1917, the story was published posthumously in ''Beim Bau der Chinesischen Mauer'' (Berlin, 1931). The first English translation, by Willa and Edwin Muir, was published by Martin Secker in London in 1933. It also appeared in '' The Great Wall of China. Stories and Reflections'' (New York: Schocken Books, 1946). The story and the fragment both appear in '' The Complete Stories''. In a diary entry for April 6, 1917, Kafka describes a strange boat standing at port, which he is told belongs to t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Country Doctor (short Story)
“A Country Doctor” (German: “Ein Landarzt”) is a short story written in 1917 by Franz Kafka. It was first published in the collection of short stories of the same title. In the story, a country doctor makes an emergency visit to a sick patient on a winter night. The doctor faces absurd, surreal predicaments that pull him along and finally doom him. Plot The plot follows a country doctor's hapless struggle to attend a sick young boy on a snowy winter's night. A series of surreal events occurs in the process, including the appearance of a mysterious groom (stablehand) in a pig shed. It begins with the doctor having to urgently attend a sick patient in a village ten miles away, but his only horse died the night before, so his maid Rosa goes off to find another. She returns empty-handed — "Of course, who is now going to lend her his horse for such a journey?" — and the doctor expresses his frustration by kicking the door of what he thinks is his empty pig shed. A my ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Warden Of The Tomb
''The Warden of the Tomb'' (''Der Gruftwächter'') is an expressionist play by Franz Kafka. Written in the winter of 1916–1917, it was published for the first time in ''Description of a Struggle''. Characters Speaking roles: The Prince Leo, The Chamberlain, The Servant, The Warden, The Steward, The Princess Non-speaking roles: The Duke Friedrich, The Countess Isabella, The granddaughter. Plot summary The story could be said to start ''in medias res A narrative work beginning ''in medias res'' (, "into the middle of things") opens in the midst of the plot (cf. ''ab ovo'', ''ab initio''). Often, exposition is bypassed and filled in gradually, through dialogue, flashbacks or description of pa ...'', that is, in the middle of an action. Apparently there has been a conversation between the Prince and the Chamberlain, who does not agree to the Prince's proposal. We soon learn that the Prince wants to place a guard in the tomb of his ancestors, this in addition to the warden in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blumfeld, An Elderly Bachelor
"Blumfeld, an Elderly Bachelor" (German: "Blumfeld, ein älterer Junggeselle") is an incomplete story by Franz Kafka. Probably written at the beginning of 1915, it first appeared in 1936 in the collection ''Beschreibung eines Kampfes'' (''Description of a Struggle''). It relates part of the life of Blumfeld, an elderly bachelor, who upon arriving home finds two balls bouncing off the ground of their own accord. The balls follow him wherever he goes, and they clearly annoy him. The action continues into the next day, following his attempt to be rid of the balls. After finding an apparent solution, he goes off to work, where he interacts with those around him. An entry from Kafka's Diaries, dated February 9, 1915, could refer to "Blumfeld": Just now read the beginning. It is ugly and gives me a headache. In spite of all its truth, it is wicked, pedantic, mechanical, a fish barely breathing on a sandbank.Kafka, Franz. ''Diaries 1910-1923''. New York: Schocken Books, 1988. A reimagi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Village Schoolmaster (The Giant Mole)
"The Village Schoolmaster", or "The Giant Mole" ("Der Dorfschullehrer" or "Der Riesenmaulwurf") is an unfinished short story by Franz Kafka. The story, written in December 1914 and the beginning of 1915, was not published in Kafka's lifetime. It first appeared in '' Beim Bau der Chinesischen Mauer'' (Berlin, 1931). The first English translation by Willa and Edwin Muir was published by Martin Secker in London in 1933. It appeared in '' The Great Wall of China. Stories and Reflections'' ( New York: Schocken Books, 1946). Plot introduction The narrator discusses the phenomenon of a giant mole in a far village, and the attempt of the village schoolmaster to bring its existence to the public attention, only to become an object of derision to the scientific community. Without knowing the schoolmaster, the narrator tries to defend him and his honesty in a paper about the giant mole. The narrator's attempts to help, stretched out in an unspecified stretch of years, are even more unsuccess ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
