This is my second post for German Literature Month hosted by Caroline from Beauty is a Sleeping Cat and Lizzy Siddal from Lizzy’s Literary Life.
Continuing with more Kafka, I decided to read Michael Hofmann’s translation of Kafka’s shorter prose. The book is called ‘Metamorphosis‘ after Kafka’s most famous work, but in the 300-page book, the title story occupies only 50 pages and the rest, comprising the majority of the book at 250 pages, has some of his shorter prose collections. The collections featured are ‘Contemplation‘ (Kafka’s first published work), ‘A Country Doctor : Short Prose for My Father‘ and ‘A Hunger-Artist : Four Stories‘. There were also a few standalone stories – ‘The Judgement : A Story for F.‘, ‘The Stoker : A Fragment‘, ‘In the Penal Colony‘ and a few others. I didn’t read the last two.
I found Kafka’s stories to be roughly of three types. There were the short-shorts which ranged from single paragraphs to one or two pages. Then there were the short story length pieces, which were around ten pages. Then there were the longer stories ranging from 30 to 50 pages. I reacted to them in different ways. I loved most of the short-shorts. There was a beautiful passage in nearly every one of them and some of them were beautiful overall. The longer stories – I can’t really comment because I read just one, ‘The Metamorphosis‘, that too in a different translation. But based on this one reading, I can say that Kafka can tell a good story in this form and I liked it. The in-between 10-page short story – I liked many of them, but some I found quite challenging. The challenging ones all started well, but at some point, I didn’t know where the story was going. For example, there is one story called ‘A Little Woman‘, in which the narrator talks about how this woman finds him annoying in everything he does. (At one point the narrator says – “if one could divide life into minute constituent particles, and judge each individual particle separately, I am sure each little particle of my life would contain some irritant for her.“) They seem to have a close relationship. I was expecting some revelation through the story or in the end – something like how this woman is his mother or his wife or his lover or his daughter or even his dog, but nothing of that sort happened. She was just annoyed with him.
Some of the stories which I think are important in some ways are these. After writing ‘Metamorphosis‘, in which Kafka talks about a man who wakes up in the morning to discover that he is a huge insect, it looks like Kafka explored related themes in other stories. In ‘A Report to an Academy‘, an ape which has evolved into a culturally sophisticated human-like being, writes a report about it for the scientific academy (at one point the ape says – “My achievement would have been impossible if I had selfishly clung to my origins and to memories of my early youth. And it was precisely the renunciation of my self that was my project; I, a free ape, willingly accepted this burden.“) In ‘Josefine, the Singer, or The Mouse People‘, the narrator, who is a mouse talks about the singer-superstar among mice, Josefine. We learn about the cultural life of mice and how Josefine is an oddball in the mice population. Then there is ‘A Country Doctor‘. A country doctor gets a midnight call. His coachman gets his coach ready, but then asks the doctor to travel on his own. The coachman then looks at the maid with lust and when she realizes what is happening she runs into the house and locks the door. The coachman runs after her and tries to break the door down so that he can go in and rape her. The doctor realizes what is happening but he is unable to do anything because he has to rush to his patient’s house. When he reaches there, he discovers that his patient doesn’t seem to have any major problem. But after careful examination, he discovers that his patient does have a life-threatening illness and he is beyond help. The patient’s parents hope that the doctor will work a miracle. While the doctor is waiting there wondering what to do, he contemplates on life – he is sitting with a patient who is beyond help while in his home his coachman is trying to rape his maid and he is unable to help her too. He ponders over the futility of it all. That situation must be the very definition of the word ‘Kafkaesque‘, I think.
Some of my favourite stories from the book were ‘The New Advocate‘, ‘The Neighbouring Village‘ and ‘A Hunger-Artist‘.
Instead of reviewing my favourite short-shorts, I will share some of my favourite passages here.
From ‘Children on the Road‘
Then birds flew up like corks out of a bottle, I followed them with my eyes, saw them climb in a single breath until I no longer thought they were rising, but that I was falling, and, clinging in to the ropes in my dizziness, I began involuntarily to swing a little.
From ‘Looking out Distractedly‘
What shall we do in the spring days that are now rapidly approaching? This morning the sky was grey, but if you go over to the window now, you’ll be surprised, and rest your cheek against the window lock.
Down on the street you’ll see the light of the now setting sun on the face of the girl walking along and turning to look over her shoulder, and then you’ll see the shadow of the man rapidly coming up behind her.
Then the man has overtaken her, and the girl’s face is quite dazzling.From ‘The Way Home‘
I weigh up my past against my future, but find both of them excellent, am unable to give one or other the advantage, and am compelled to reprove providence for its injustice in so favouring me.
From ‘The Neighbouring Village‘
My grandfather was in the habit of saying : ‘Life is astonishingly brief. By now it is all so condensed in my memory that I can hardly understand, for instance, how a young man can undertake to ride to the neighbouring village without wondering whether – even if everything goes right – the span of a normal happy life will be enough for such a ride.
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Have you read any of these shorter prose pieces by Kafka? Which are your favourites?
I’ve only read his longer form fiction (The Castle, The Trial and Metamorphosis) so I found this post very interesting. I wonder if some of these short pieces were ‘practice’ pieces, much like what I used to do when I was studying professional writing and we were told we had to write something – anything – for at least three minutes every day. I think I would die of embarrassment if anybody made any of those public! (#NotLikelyToHappen, of course, not unless I write The Great Australian Novel, ha ha!)
Nice to know that you have read Kafka’s longer fiction, Lisa. I hope to read The Castle and The Trial someday. I don’t know whether the short pieces in the book were ‘practice’ pieces, but I remember reading somewhere that Kafka said at some point that his writing has matured and some of the pieces in the book were published before that. So there is clearly a case for believing that some of them were ‘practice’ pieces 🙂 I hope I can get to read some of those short pieces you wrote 🙂 I also hope you write The Great Australian Novel one day. I will definitely read it.
I read a collection of these shorter pieces (cobbled together from German websites!) a while back, but, unfortunately, it was during one of my rare non-blogging periods, so I don’t have any reviews 😦 I enjoyed these shorter, and often stranger pieces; in particular, I remember being impressed by ‘The Hunger Artist’. But yes, some are very strange 😉
Glad to know that you read some of these shorter pieces and liked them, Tony. Sorry to know that you couldn’t review them. (It is hard for me to believe that you had a non-blogging period!) ‘The Hunger-Artist’ is definitely wonderful! Glad you liked it. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
How delightful to see a post from youI I must have missed your last post, which means that I have something lovely to look forward to.
I posted a few minutes ago on my ipad, but it is being stubborn these days, lost the wifi connection, and thus also lost my post. Thank goodness I have my lap top handy. I do find it easier to type on in any case.
Kafka! I read some of his writing when I was in college! Then about 25-30 years ago I reread “Metamorphosis” and some of his other stories. Since that time I haven’t picked up anything by him.
I really enjoyed your blog comments, and the quotes that you posted. It reminded me of his trail of beautiful stories, phrases and thoughts. In most of his stories I had two trains of thought going. The first of course was about the story, while the second was more reflective while I pondered what kind of a person he was.
As writers we see one part of the artist. As a person I think he might give us quite a different picture. Your description of “A Little Woman” was so interesting to me because I could actually believe that he might indeed be a very annoying person.
I remember a story about Proust and Dickens meeting. I can’t actually remember if it is true, but apparently they were to meet. It seemed that it would be a wonderful meeting of minds, but they did not really like one another. I love wandering through Proust’s exquisite descriptions of his memories, but wonder what he would have been like from day to day. Charming? Eccentric? Annoying? And so too I wonder the same thing about Kafka. Still, does it matter what a person is like, their idiosyncrasies? What is important? The art that had been created or the person who created it?
What a perfectly lovely way to start the day! Reading a blog from you is so enjoyable.
Many thanks!
Thank you for the beautiful comment, Heidi 🙂 So wonderful to know that you read Metamorphosis and other short stories by Kafka and liked them. I have wanted to read his stories for a long time and I am glad I did. I loved reading your thoughts on what kind of person Kafka was and whether his writings revealed his personality. It is an interesting thought to ponder on. The story about Proust and Dickens meeting sounds so fascinating! I would have loved to be there when it happened 🙂
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