jjares reviewed Franz Kafka: The Life and Legacy of One of the 20th Century?s Most Influential Writers on + 3263 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Recently, I've been taking a Great Course about significant short-story authors. The first rattle out of the box was Franz Kafka's, "A Country Doctor." It is only five pages long, but the reader needs to stop and think about things after reading it. It is an unsettling story. Suddenly, I wanted to read about Kafka. English majors in college all remember describing stories that seemed "Kafkaesque" -- but who was the man?
I think this author zeroed in on Kafka's psyche beautifully with this book. Franz was a small, spare man who was intimidated by his big, blustery father all of his life. He didn't escape to his own lodgings until later in life. He never confronted people who tormented him but he had a vivid interior life that he used to survive. I don't think Kafka would have been such a success without Freud (who was only 2 years older). Freud helped us understand inner turmoil in a new way. Kafka makes sense when we understand how inner angst causes people to respond (through Freud's writings).
Kafka was a tragic figure; he became a lawyer because his father wanted him to become one. His relationships with women were unsatisfying generally. He felt he needed to be alone because his art demanded it, but he wanted to be with others. There was a constant conflict between loneliness and being too close to others. When he died at 40 (tuberculosis), he must have been relieved. His work is filled with angst, fear, and aloneness.
I think this author zeroed in on Kafka's psyche beautifully with this book. Franz was a small, spare man who was intimidated by his big, blustery father all of his life. He didn't escape to his own lodgings until later in life. He never confronted people who tormented him but he had a vivid interior life that he used to survive. I don't think Kafka would have been such a success without Freud (who was only 2 years older). Freud helped us understand inner turmoil in a new way. Kafka makes sense when we understand how inner angst causes people to respond (through Freud's writings).
Kafka was a tragic figure; he became a lawyer because his father wanted him to become one. His relationships with women were unsatisfying generally. He felt he needed to be alone because his art demanded it, but he wanted to be with others. There was a constant conflict between loneliness and being too close to others. When he died at 40 (tuberculosis), he must have been relieved. His work is filled with angst, fear, and aloneness.
