Now He Tells Us!
Hey, this is cool!
Ten safety deposit boxes of never-published writings by Franz Kafka, their exact contents unknown, are trapped in courts and bureaucracy, much like one of the nightmarish visions created by the author himself. The papers, retrieved from bank vaults where they have sat untouched and unread for decades, could shed new light on one of literature's darkest figures.
Apparently, the pages include endings to some unfinished works. So, like, it's possible "The Castle," turns out all right in the end and all the characters break into song. Or maybe Josef K sues and gets millions in compensation. Maybe the guy in Metamorphosis turns out to be the inventor of Raid and goes on to make his fortune. I mean, this could change the entire history of modern thought!
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Re: Now He Tells Us!
Dark he may have been, but two things have always colored my perception of Kafka:
1. He rode a motorscooter. You may want to think of him walking gloomy streets, hunched over, pausing to hack out a tubercular cough while he steadied himself against the wall with his free hand, but he was probably a guy zipping around with his tie flying over his shoulder. Doot-do-do, headin' home for lunch. Hope it's sausages.
2. Can't find the source, but I recall a bio that described how he'd read his stories aloud to friends, laughing. When you think about it, "Metamorphosis" does sound like the set-up for a joke. So this guy wakes up, and he's a dung beetle! Oh, wait, it gets better!
Jun '10
Re: Now He Tells Us!
In the past year I actually read both The Trial and the Castle, and found them strangely mesmerizing.
As a lawyer, I know the guy in The Trial has no hope, but I really do wish K could get to that damned castle.
Jun '10
Re: Now He Tells Us!
One more thought. Kafka's two masterpieces are a bit hard to figure out, but one theme is absolutely clear: the numbing mindlessness and coldness of bureaucracy.
Reminds my of something Theodore Dalrymple recently wrote: "To treat all people with equal contempt and indifference is a bureaucrat's idea of equity."
May '10
Re: Now He Tells Us!
James Lileks: Dark he may have been, but two things have always colored my perception of Kafka:
[snip]
2. Can't find the source, but I recall a bio that described how he'd read his stories aloud to friends, laughing. When you think about it, "Metamorphosis" does sound like the set-up for a joke. So this guy wakes up, and he's a dung beetle! Oh, wait, it gets better! · Jul 22 at 10:07am
I was listening to the Geeks Guide to the Galaxy podcast and the hosts claimed that this odd comedy-horror interconnection is a common one. Supposedly comedians tend to have had terrible childhoods, while horror writers tend to be cheerful. E.g., Stephen King has said that he knows an idea is a great one if it keeps him chuckling. (He also famously said his secret to writing fiction is that he has the heart of a young boy--and he keeps it in a jar on his desk. Comedy gold, right there!)