Book review
Franz Kafka
When it comes to senseless literature or rather a directionless yet powerful compilation of emotions, Franz Kafka can be undoubtedly crowned at the top. His contribution to world literature in the form of an entirely new genre called Kafkaesque, was however, recognized only after his death in 1924 at the young age of 41. Some of his stories show a powerful portrayal of emotions which are tough to tell otherwise, in simple routine stories, so that we can relate the stories to our lives.
He relies a lot on analogies, which relate complex emotions to mechanical settings in terms of time and space, which gives it a realistic picture and therefore, make it simpler for the reader to appreciate the meaning and connect to the author. Some of his stories like The Castle and The Hunger Artist showcase a typical condition of a human mind in which it tries to make decisions, but cannot make a lopsided choice. So, the author chooses to bring the scenario from a mental stage to a real stage, in which he makes the protagonist interact with other characters, but on the whole, the main crux of the story remains to put a mirror in front of the eyes of the reader, which leaves him/her in awe.
However, it is sometimes observed in his short stories, that he struggles to provide the reader with a convincing analogies or relations between the unreal and real. Sometimes, it occurs to the reader that a better analogy or setting could have been formulated by the author and thus, leaves him in a dilemma. This dilemma is between the obvious and the intentions. Does the author really want to use the specific analogy given in the text and the reader must apply some more of his wits to crack the hidden meaning or is it just that the author has fallen short at inspiring awe in the reader. This apparent mistake can be seen in the story Before the law, in which a person fails to get justice throughout his life despite taking all the measures he could possibly think of, but the way the author has portrayed this is not fully adored by the reader as it is completely meaningless and inconclusive.
Although his short stories collection has come discretely over the time during and after his career, he can, in an overall picture, be considered unaffected from his immediate surroundings, given the fact that in his time, almost every European writer was busy discussing war and social issues, while he was busy untying the knots of the human mind. Also, being translated from German to English and other languages, the text, according to many critics, loses its sheen across the borders of language. He uses long sentences, mostly in his attempt to put in a series of mental states together. However, his uses of dialogues are very powerful and although very simples and basic, they leave memorable imprints n our minds. All in all, a brilliant story teller, he is definitely one of the most unique writers of the twentieth century.
Gandharv S. Kumar
2008CH10057
Amazingly I liked going through these stories!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the reviewer on his view point of crowning him at the top of senseless literature to an extent but really it’s very difficult to conclude this with full confidence as he makes his readers feel highly uncomfortable and anxious at the end of every story. It is like cruising through the long casual lines to reach the “Bermuda Triangle” and suddenly gulp!!
Kafka's absurdist, existentialist style demands analysis and begs interpretation. Though it never directs all its readers to be on the same page as Kafka completely relies on the intellect of individuals to decipher whatever he wants from the stories. Kafka's work offers an astounding depth of opportunity for critical interpretation, but if these stories are taken very casually without reading between the lines, then they actually appear stupid casual stories for children.
“However, it is sometimes observed in his short stories, that he struggles to provide the reader with a convincing analogies or relations between the unreal and real”. I disagree with the reviewer on this point because Kafka has really put all his efforts to make even very unviable possibilities feasible through his analogies. In one of the stories in the chat of the propagandist with the guard seems frustrating as well as hilarious at the same time but there was nothing which sounded totally absurd logically.
Every story has certain interpretations to be deduced. As the reviewer has not provoked me to comment on his interpretations at any point of time, so I leave it for other readers to remain in awe as I was generally lost after the stories!!
I found the Penal Colony unnecessarily long and frustrating. A man living with an overbearing parent, A doctor whose life's work goes unrewarded and under-appreciated…..come on !! what is this in literary terms?? But stories like hunger artist really leave you with a whole ocean of thoughts and desire to sit down with human mentality and the whole socio-political structure at hand.
At last I only want to say that if you are just reading this to lower down your stress levels …..it’s no time when you will find your own hands on your neck…..Kafka Is the man for you!!
Aman
I have similar notions too!
ReplyDeleteKafka, at many places in his stories, almost formulates the plot to be childish and almost unbearable for an adult and leaves the reader thinking if he missed a crucial point. But actually, what had happened was a paradoxical and an ironical phenomenon, a classical example of an artist's dilemma. The author tries to portray a plot or moral or a provoked string of thoughts in the reader, but fails to take a decision to the simplicity of the settings. I believe that Kafka struggles with this dilemma several times in his stories.
There are a couple of points I disagree With Aman on. Firstly, as he gives his opinion on the illogical analogies and says that the analogies were fairly logical, I will say that despite Kafka making one or two outstanding and heart-touching analogies, he has largely remained ignorant on this front and has, on the whole, failed to continue that same magic with his other stories. This fact can be appreciated only by those, who have read much of his literature with interest. Secondly, unlike Aman, I found the story "In the penal colony" fairly interesting, in fact among the best I have read of Kafka so far.
It is definitely easy and fair to say that Kafka deserved more fame than he got in his lifetime, but surely, his mark on the world literature is very powerful.