I recently went back to Kafka and read his letters as well. He suffered so many physical problems in his life--too short a life--and much of it, I believe, was due to his emotional bruises. I do return to him periodically. When despair hits me, I cherish my reading which I have done continuously since I was four years old. I believe reading has saved me. And now, I am reading a wonderful novel: There Are Rivers in the Sky! Thank you.
Thank you for sharing the fragment of Kafka's letter and for reminding us of his profound legacy. Having been raised in Germany, I am quite familiar with his works, many of which were required reading in school. However, my comment is not about his literary influence.
Kafka’s letter to his father reminds me of the fragility of our words and the difficulty in fully expressing the depths of our inner world. Like Kafka, I’ve attempted to put into words the wounds and fears that have shaped me over the years—not through direct dialogue, but in quiet conversations at my parents’ graves.
Yet the words I find are merely fragments, pieces of a self I am only now beginning to rediscover and gently reconstruct. They are the remnants of a long-buried, exiled self that once had no chance to be heard or understood.
This process often feels incomplete and fragmented, but I believe that these very fragments—imperfect as they may be—are an essential part of my path to healing. Kafka’s letter shows me that what we cannot fully express still holds meaning. Our attempts to articulate our inner worlds, however fragmented, are part of a larger whole that we gradually bring to light.
I very appreciate this imaginative homage. My personal tip for all readers. If you want to fully understand Franz Kafka, so please visit Prague: the The Franz Kafka Museum and his grave in the Jewish Cemetery of Prague-Zizkov. An unforgettable literary journey through time.
I just realized I, too, have shied away from Kafka due to a fear. Something about Metamorphosis seems grotesque and too dark. But, the opposite of fear is love, and your love for Franz has ignited a little curiosity spark in me. Thank you!
No idea where you reside Sharayah, are writing from, or what your political leanings might be.
Character-wise, thinking Trump is listed on the programme, do you shy away due to fear or engage due to... who knows, not I, what your line of reasoning in response, would have been yesterday, is today, could be... tomorrow?
Questioning our own motives is wise. Engaging due to fear can drive powerful action. We see this on the news, in our lives
Personally, I feel even more empowered and capable if I can understand the driver of my fear. There must be a love of something I fear to lose/change actually sitting in the drivers seat....letting that love move me feels more energizing, sustainable, life-giving. Why not always go there, and live a life without fear? Because I am learning how to not fear fear itself.
The writer Elif Shafak has a serious affliction. The affliction she is suffering from is called inference-observation, aka jumping conclusion bias.
She has read Franz Kafkas's letter to his father and is now unable to read Kafka's oeuvre without internally summoning the figure of Hermann Kafka who appears to be looming like a vicious ogre over every story.
The stereotype of a broken, melancholy writer whose works are shaped by the authoritarian rule of his estranged father is probably further bolstered by photographs of Kafka peering intensely into the camera. However, on closer inspection, Kafka does not fit this sterotype. Shafak's assumptions and screaming fit at Hermann in the mountains reminds me of an immature teenager who has only ever read Kafka superficially and who has really no idea about who this writer was and how much or how little his relationships with others influenced his work. No wonder passers-by thought that her outburst was bizarre! It is also lazy not to research properly the background of the person you are making unsubstantiated claims about.
Themes of alienation and isolation are central motifs in Kafka's works. They reflect many and varied experiences that Kafka had in his own world with a great number of people including his relationship with his fiancée Felice Bauer and also his father. It is tempting to try and link Kafka's biography to his stories iin order to find a satisfactory 'explanation' for Kafka's surreal and alien plots and characters. But those who yield to this temptation have never bothered to read Kafka deeply and to appreciate his aesthetics from a literary perspective.
Anyone who moves effortlessly within the world of literature will realise after reading only a few pages of Kafka's fiction that any attempt at finding a connection, an 'explanation', a resolution, must fail, must necessarily destroy these prose pieces. What makes Kafkas images so compelling is not their transferability or their symbolific value within which to seek real people or events, but his linguistic clarity and succinctness, his starling metaphors and his "virtuoso mastery of the logic of dreams" (Reiner Stach).
Fortunately - despite the hyperbole, naive assumptions and fear readers have about this grand writer - the result of decades of global, interdisciplinary research has provided us with a precise outline of Kafka and his world, so that we do not need to jump to conclusions. Kafka's strange self-reflective abysses do not invite us to shout insults at his father into the void. What his mountainous literary achievement requires of us is the sturdy footwear of insight when we traverse it. Beware: espadrilles cause an affliction!
Cashing out? not quite sure what that means. But my intent is to get hold of one or some of his books at the English library in Cuernavaca, if I can. Right now in caps is a reminder to self.
It's sad, isn't it, that Kafka's father's cruelty was instrumental in creating his son's brilliance as a writer. I must revisit his work - thank you for reminding me!
I love Kafka! And The Metamorphosis is one of my favorite stories/novellas. I find the existentialists quite uplifting actually. I think it's really cool that you went on a hike with espadrilles. My mother once went on a hike with high heels. She wasn't compromising! I'm afraid of heights too. My roommate in college was an arachnophobic. I had to kill all the bugs and spiders for her. Fears are so fascinating. Good writing material!
Hesse's tribute to Kafka was from 9ne who knew him.
"It is not Kafka's fault that his wonderful writings have turned into a fad, and are read by people who have neither the ability nor the desire to absorb literature"
How interesting… I thought of Kafka just yesterday, when reflecting on my impulse to destroy the first draft of my book. How crazy to think that he asked his friend to destroy his writing. Imagine a world without Kafka? And sadly, his father sounds too familiar.
Not for the first time I find my reaction to the beauty, and the power, of your way with words manifest in the profusion of goose-pimples that having broken out are breaking, wave after wave surge, out as I type.
I'm not well dipped, so not well read, in Kafka - yes, I know Metamorphosis but beyond the landscape of his literacy quickly becomes shadows.
This piece of your writing is many dimensioned, resonant with signposts to fine paths that a passing reader may be inspired to pursue.
Paradoxically I have start, in this first reply, by stating simply that earphones on an upland hike would be, for me when could still do such, would be utter anathema for me. 'Verdant valleys, clear skies, silver mountains; Alpine or Anywhere; countryside, oh countryside, would that you could be a techno-free-zone!
Such said, and in fairness, seeking balance I'm with your - and Liza Minelli's realisation of Sally Bowles, in Cabaret, finding catharsis arrived on the back of soul scream underneath a railway arch chosen for her sound being sure to be drowned in the overheard rumbling clickety-clack of a train passing (on time, precisely, Chris Isherwood's story being set Nazifying Weimar Germany) iron engine wheels on iron rails, then clickety-clack, clickety-clack of rolling stock, rolling on and on, clickety-clack, clickety-clack, clickety...
Brilliant post; for the opportunity to click open Reply, write, and click Send in response thank you.
I needed to read your post on Kafka as I have been too afraid of his darkness to read him. His memory and fears are beautifully represented in a stage performance by Ayanga, a Chinese actor, singer and musical star. Don't miss it on YT. It will chill and move you to tears.
After you do, check on YT for an extremely moving stage performance of The Metamorphosis by Chinese singer and actor AYANGA. It will chill your spine - a MUST SEE.
Interesting question. The link is to something which is 'viewed' rather than 'read'. Therefore, I chose to use the word "see". Perhaps another reason is that viewing evokes an emotional experience that may not be of an intellectual nature such as reading might. Thank you for the question. It was truly thought provoking.
I still remember discovering this great writer through picture books back in the days, then moving on to his novels. As time passed, I began to understand his emotional struggles.. Earlier this year, I visited an exhibition about his life, and it’s truly inspiring to revisit his works as my experiences grow.
I recently went back to Kafka and read his letters as well. He suffered so many physical problems in his life--too short a life--and much of it, I believe, was due to his emotional bruises. I do return to him periodically. When despair hits me, I cherish my reading which I have done continuously since I was four years old. I believe reading has saved me. And now, I am reading a wonderful novel: There Are Rivers in the Sky! Thank you.
Thank you for sharing the fragment of Kafka's letter and for reminding us of his profound legacy. Having been raised in Germany, I am quite familiar with his works, many of which were required reading in school. However, my comment is not about his literary influence.
Kafka’s letter to his father reminds me of the fragility of our words and the difficulty in fully expressing the depths of our inner world. Like Kafka, I’ve attempted to put into words the wounds and fears that have shaped me over the years—not through direct dialogue, but in quiet conversations at my parents’ graves.
Yet the words I find are merely fragments, pieces of a self I am only now beginning to rediscover and gently reconstruct. They are the remnants of a long-buried, exiled self that once had no chance to be heard or understood.
This process often feels incomplete and fragmented, but I believe that these very fragments—imperfect as they may be—are an essential part of my path to healing. Kafka’s letter shows me that what we cannot fully express still holds meaning. Our attempts to articulate our inner worlds, however fragmented, are part of a larger whole that we gradually bring to light.
I very appreciate this imaginative homage. My personal tip for all readers. If you want to fully understand Franz Kafka, so please visit Prague: the The Franz Kafka Museum and his grave in the Jewish Cemetery of Prague-Zizkov. An unforgettable literary journey through time.
What a great reason to visit Prague!
I've always wanted to go there, and intend to do so now.
Absolutely!!! Susanna. You are welcome. And don't miss this unique statue...https://prague.eu/en/objevujte/statue-of-kafka/
"Fully understand" Franz Kafka? A, somewhat, conceivably impossible, "tall order"?
In fact, you are right...
I just realized I, too, have shied away from Kafka due to a fear. Something about Metamorphosis seems grotesque and too dark. But, the opposite of fear is love, and your love for Franz has ignited a little curiosity spark in me. Thank you!
No idea where you reside Sharayah, are writing from, or what your political leanings might be.
Character-wise, thinking Trump is listed on the programme, do you shy away due to fear or engage due to... who knows, not I, what your line of reasoning in response, would have been yesterday, is today, could be... tomorrow?
Questioning our own motives is wise. Engaging due to fear can drive powerful action. We see this on the news, in our lives
Personally, I feel even more empowered and capable if I can understand the driver of my fear. There must be a love of something I fear to lose/change actually sitting in the drivers seat....letting that love move me feels more energizing, sustainable, life-giving. Why not always go there, and live a life without fear? Because I am learning how to not fear fear itself.
The writer Elif Shafak has a serious affliction. The affliction she is suffering from is called inference-observation, aka jumping conclusion bias.
She has read Franz Kafkas's letter to his father and is now unable to read Kafka's oeuvre without internally summoning the figure of Hermann Kafka who appears to be looming like a vicious ogre over every story.
The stereotype of a broken, melancholy writer whose works are shaped by the authoritarian rule of his estranged father is probably further bolstered by photographs of Kafka peering intensely into the camera. However, on closer inspection, Kafka does not fit this sterotype. Shafak's assumptions and screaming fit at Hermann in the mountains reminds me of an immature teenager who has only ever read Kafka superficially and who has really no idea about who this writer was and how much or how little his relationships with others influenced his work. No wonder passers-by thought that her outburst was bizarre! It is also lazy not to research properly the background of the person you are making unsubstantiated claims about.
Themes of alienation and isolation are central motifs in Kafka's works. They reflect many and varied experiences that Kafka had in his own world with a great number of people including his relationship with his fiancée Felice Bauer and also his father. It is tempting to try and link Kafka's biography to his stories iin order to find a satisfactory 'explanation' for Kafka's surreal and alien plots and characters. But those who yield to this temptation have never bothered to read Kafka deeply and to appreciate his aesthetics from a literary perspective.
Anyone who moves effortlessly within the world of literature will realise after reading only a few pages of Kafka's fiction that any attempt at finding a connection, an 'explanation', a resolution, must fail, must necessarily destroy these prose pieces. What makes Kafkas images so compelling is not their transferability or their symbolific value within which to seek real people or events, but his linguistic clarity and succinctness, his starling metaphors and his "virtuoso mastery of the logic of dreams" (Reiner Stach).
Fortunately - despite the hyperbole, naive assumptions and fear readers have about this grand writer - the result of decades of global, interdisciplinary research has provided us with a precise outline of Kafka and his world, so that we do not need to jump to conclusions. Kafka's strange self-reflective abysses do not invite us to shout insults at his father into the void. What his mountainous literary achievement requires of us is the sturdy footwear of insight when we traverse it. Beware: espadrilles cause an affliction!
What a marvellous quote:
‘A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us,’ Kafka said.
Thank you for this on Kafka, I realise I have to read him RIGHT NOW.
'7 hrs ago', as I type Rosalind. How's your purposive intent, of reading Franz Kafka, RIGHT NOW, cashing out?
Cashing out? not quite sure what that means. But my intent is to get hold of one or some of his books at the English library in Cuernavaca, if I can. Right now in caps is a reminder to self.
It's sad, isn't it, that Kafka's father's cruelty was instrumental in creating his son's brilliance as a writer. I must revisit his work - thank you for reminding me!
I love Kafka! And The Metamorphosis is one of my favorite stories/novellas. I find the existentialists quite uplifting actually. I think it's really cool that you went on a hike with espadrilles. My mother once went on a hike with high heels. She wasn't compromising! I'm afraid of heights too. My roommate in college was an arachnophobic. I had to kill all the bugs and spiders for her. Fears are so fascinating. Good writing material!
Hesse's tribute to Kafka was from 9ne who knew him.
"It is not Kafka's fault that his wonderful writings have turned into a fad, and are read by people who have neither the ability nor the desire to absorb literature"
How interesting… I thought of Kafka just yesterday, when reflecting on my impulse to destroy the first draft of my book. How crazy to think that he asked his friend to destroy his writing. Imagine a world without Kafka? And sadly, his father sounds too familiar.
Not for the first time I find my reaction to the beauty, and the power, of your way with words manifest in the profusion of goose-pimples that having broken out are breaking, wave after wave surge, out as I type.
I'm not well dipped, so not well read, in Kafka - yes, I know Metamorphosis but beyond the landscape of his literacy quickly becomes shadows.
This piece of your writing is many dimensioned, resonant with signposts to fine paths that a passing reader may be inspired to pursue.
Paradoxically I have start, in this first reply, by stating simply that earphones on an upland hike would be, for me when could still do such, would be utter anathema for me. 'Verdant valleys, clear skies, silver mountains; Alpine or Anywhere; countryside, oh countryside, would that you could be a techno-free-zone!
Such said, and in fairness, seeking balance I'm with your - and Liza Minelli's realisation of Sally Bowles, in Cabaret, finding catharsis arrived on the back of soul scream underneath a railway arch chosen for her sound being sure to be drowned in the overheard rumbling clickety-clack of a train passing (on time, precisely, Chris Isherwood's story being set Nazifying Weimar Germany) iron engine wheels on iron rails, then clickety-clack, clickety-clack of rolling stock, rolling on and on, clickety-clack, clickety-clack, clickety...
Brilliant post; for the opportunity to click open Reply, write, and click Send in response thank you.
Brilliant Translucent !
Brilliant? How?
Translucent? In what way(s)?
I needed to read your post on Kafka as I have been too afraid of his darkness to read him. His memory and fears are beautifully represented in a stage performance by Ayanga, a Chinese actor, singer and musical star. Don't miss it on YT. It will chill and move you to tears.
This is great timing since The Castle has been glaring at me on my shelf, maybe I’ll check out The Metamorphosis as well
After you do, check on YT for an extremely moving stage performance of The Metamorphosis by Chinese singer and actor AYANGA. It will chill your spine - a MUST SEE.
Why, me wondering, not idly, a MUST SEE rather than a MUST READ?
Deeply interested Oma, should you opt to reply to my gently intended query.
Interesting question. The link is to something which is 'viewed' rather than 'read'. Therefore, I chose to use the word "see". Perhaps another reason is that viewing evokes an emotional experience that may not be of an intellectual nature such as reading might. Thank you for the question. It was truly thought provoking.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nC6p66c94U
THANK YOU for posting your response to my reply. I hope many people use the link to view a truly magnificent performance. Gratitude!
This is so beautiful and needed. Thank you. And I now have Benedict Cumberbatch’s reading reserved in BorrowBox to listen to. Can’t wait 😊🧡
I still remember discovering this great writer through picture books back in the days, then moving on to his novels. As time passed, I began to understand his emotional struggles.. Earlier this year, I visited an exhibition about his life, and it’s truly inspiring to revisit his works as my experiences grow.