Short Stories by Franz Kafka - a review.

'Why do I not do as others: live in harmony with my people and accept in silence whatever disturbs the harmony, ignoring it as a small error in the great account.'

There is a reason one starts to read books like these. One needs to find something. What is that 'something'? Is it sense, meaning, or a purpose? One doesn't succeed in articulating precisely what they are trying to find. But of course, there is some kind of seeking by the reader. Not even the neighbour understands it.

While the person seeks 'something' through these books, travelling within the tiny understandable parts of heavily translated paragraphs, they encounter questions that interrogate the nuances of their existence. The reader then goes behind the questions but gets lost within the complex process of seeking. They become confused with life and are no longer able to distinguish between meanings. This, according to me, is called 'Existentialism'.

Franz Kafka is my first detailed study into the concept of existentialism. Although I knew about other writers such as Nietzsche, Camus, Kierkegaard, and Kant, I couldn't pick up one full book and read it. There could be a reason for me not doing so. I read 'Notes from Underground' two months ago, and regardless of the translation and its style, I found it very difficult to digest the concepts of the first half of the book. The distant aspects of human feelings, which most people do not even bother to think about, have been intricately laid out in that book. Only when we read such lines do we start thinking about those concepts. Anyhow, the second part of that book made some things simpler for me to understand.

But Kafka is a completely different game. I had read 'Metamorphosis' last year as a standalone book, and this book has 'Metamorphosis' as one of its stories. Trust me, it is the only story I'm able to understand and appreciate. The rest of them, well, I don't know how many rereads they are begging for.

'The Hunger Artist' is one more story that felt thought-provoking. It speaks about a person who, unable or disagreeing to go by the norms of society, rejects its norms, tries to live by their own rules, and gets stamped mercilessly. It speaks about how the unnecessary rules and norms of society throttle a free mind.

'In the Penal Colony' speaks about authoritarianism and people's refusal to accept a new regime, even though it serves their well-being. That is one of the extensively discussed concepts all across the world, well put into a story.

There were some more stories. Each one impressed me, but none could hold my hand in the vast sea of long German sentences, ill-humoured metaphors, and sloppy translations (sometimes). I truly felt what 'Kafkaesque' really meant. As previously stated, it may be necessary for me to revisit these stories in an iterative manner.

This was a long-awaited end. I really waited to read works with existential themes, and I am glad I had Kafka as my first writer to read. His deep insights about human life and society have made our understanding of life easier. His 'Kafkaesque' writings have successfully put down words on paper for the same feelings that millions have felt, but could never give them form with words.

This book is definitely on my reread list, but for now, I am giving it only three stars. If I feel better during rereads, I will come and change my ratings.

#kafka #kafkaesque Writers and Authors Bookchor.com Writer's Relief #creativewriting #bookreviews #existentialism #german Writers HUB RemoteWriters.org #remotework Goodreads #writing #writingcommunity