Franz Kafka Books In Order

Novels

  1. The Judgement (1913)
  2. The Metamorphosis (1915)
  3. The Trial (1925)
  4. The Castle (1926)
  5. Amerika (1927)

Omnibus

  1. The Complete Novels of Kafka (2008)

Collections

  1. Meditation (1913)
  2. The Metamorphosis and Other Stories (1949)
  3. The Complete Stories (1976)
  4. Franz Kafka Stories 1904 – 1924 (1981)
  5. Best Short Stories (Die Schonsten Erzahlungen) (1997)
  6. The Unhappiness of Being a Single Man (2018)
  7. He (2020)
  8. The Lost Writings (2020)

Chapbooks

  1. In the Penal Colony (1919)

Plays

  1. A County Doctor (2013)

Novellas

  1. The Burrow (1923)
  2. Investigations of a Dog (1933)

Non fiction

  1. Letters to Milena (1952)

Novels Book Covers

Omnibus Book Covers

Collections Book Covers

Chapbooks Book Covers

Plays Book Covers

Novellas Book Covers

Non fiction Book Covers

Franz Kafka Books Overview

The Metamorphosis

Reprint 1915 eidtion. Paperback. Translated by Ian Johnston The Original German edition Die Verwandlung published by K. Wolff, Leipzig, 1915. The Metamorphosis German: Die Verwandlung is a novella by Franz Kafka, first published in 1915. It is often cited as one of the seminal works of short fiction of the 20th century and is widely studied in colleges and universities across the western world. The story begins with a traveling salesman, Gregor Samsa, waking to find himself transformed into an insect. Critics have interpreted Kafka’s works in the context of a variety of literary schools, such as modernism, magical realism, and so on. The apparent hopelessness and absurdity that seem to permeate his works are considered emblematic of existentialism. Others have tried to locate a Marxist influence in his satirization of bureaucracy in pieces such as In the Penal Colony, The Trial, and The Castle, whereas others point to anarchism as an inspiration for Kafka’s anti bureaucratic viewpoint. Still others have interpreted his works through the lens of Judaism, through Freudianism, or as allegories of a metaphysical quest for God. Themes of alienation and persecution are repeatedly emphasized. Biographers have said that it was common for Kafka to read chapters of the books he was working on to his closest friends, and that those readings usually concentrated on the humorous side of his prose. Milan Kundera refers to the essentially surrealist humour of Kafka as a main predecessor of later artists such as Federico Fellini, Gabriel Garc a M rquez, Carlos Fuentes and Salman Rushdie. For Garc a M rquez, it was as he said the reading of Kafka’s The Metamorphosis that showed him ‘that it was possible to write in a different way.’

The Trial

One of the great works of the twentieth century, Kafka’s The Trial has been read as a study of political power, a pessimistic religious parable, or a crime novel where the accused man is himself the problem. In it, a man wakes up one morning to find himself under arrest for an offence which is never explained. Faced with this ambiguous but threatening situation, Josef K. gradually succumbs to its psychological pressure. One of the iconic figures of modern world literature, Kafka writes about universal problems of guilt, responsibility, and freedom. He offers no solutions, but provokes his readers to arrive at meanings of their own. Mike Mitchell’s translation captures Kafka’s distinctive style. Based on the best available German text, it includes not only the main text but the chapters Kafka left incomplete. In his Introduction, Ritchie Robertson considers the many puzzles in the novel and the different interpretations to which the novel has been subjected. The book also includes a Biographical Preface, an up to date bibliography, and a chronology of Kafka’s life. About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World’s Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford’s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up to date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

The Castle

Franz Kafka’s final novel tells the haunting tale of a man known only as K. and of his relentless, unavailing struggle with an inscrutable authority in order to gain entrance to The Castle. Although Kafka seemed to consider The Castle a failure, critics, in wrestling with its enigmatic meaning, have recognized it as one of the great novels of our century. Unfinished at Kafka’s death in 1924, the manuscript of The Castle was edited for publication by Kafka’s friend and literary executor, Max Brod. Both Brod’s edition and the English language translation of it that was prepared by Willa and Edwin Muir in 1930 have long been considered flawed. This new edition of Kafka’s terrifying and comic masterpiece is the product of an international team of experts who went back to Kafka’s original manuscript and notes to create an edition that is as close as possible to the way the author left it. The Times Literary Supplement hailed their work, saying that it will ‘decisively alter our understanding of Kafka and render previous editions obsolete.’Mark Harman’s brilliant translation closely follows the fluidity and breathlessness of the sparsely punctuated original manuscript, revealing levels of comedy, energy, and visual power that have not been previously accessible to English language readers.W. H. Auden likened Kafka to Dante, Shakespeare, and Goethe as the single most important writer of his age. Here, in this new edition, is a Kafka for the twenty first century.

Amerika

Franz Kafka’s diaries and letters suggest that his fascination with America grew out of a desire to break away from his native Prague, even if only in his imagination. Kafka died before he could finish what he like to call his ‘American novel,: but he clearly entitled it Der Verschollene ‘The Missing Person’ in a letter to his fiancee, Felice Bauer, in 1912. Kafka began writing the novel that fall and wrote until the last completed chapter in 1914, but in wasn’t until 1927, three years after his death, that Amerika the title that Kafka’s friend and literary executor Max Brod gave his edited version of the unfinished manuscript was published in Germany by Kurt Wolff Verlag. An English translation by Willa and Edwin Muir was published in Great Britain in 1932 and in the United States in 1946. Over the last thirty years, an international team of Kafka scholars has been working on German language critical editions of all of Kafka’s writings, going back to the original manuscripts and notes, correcting transcription errors, and removing Brod’s editorial and stylistic interventions to create texts that are as close as possible to the way the author left them. With the same expert balance of precision and nuance that marked his award winning translation of The Castle, Mark Harman now restores the humor ad particularity of language in his translation of the critical edition of Der Verschollene. Here is the story of young Karl Rossman, who, following an incident involving a housemaid, is banished by his parents to America. With unquenchable optimism and in the company of two comic sinister companions, he throws himself into misadventure, eventually heading towards Oklahoma, where a career in the theater beckons. Though we can never know how Kafka planned to end the novel, Harman’s superb translation allows us to appreciate, as closely as possible, what Kafka did commit to the page.

The Complete Novels of Kafka

Both Joseph K in The Trial and K in The Castle are victims of anonymous governing forces beyond their control. Both are atomized, estranged and rootless citizens deceived by authoritarian power. Whereas Joseph K is relentlessly hunted down for a crime that remains nameless, K ceaselessly attempts to enter the castle, and so belong somewhere. Both novels may be read as powerful allegories of totalitarian government. In America, Karl Rossman experiences Oedipal and cultural isolation, and finds that America is never quite as real as it seems.

The Metamorphosis and Other Stories

The Metamorphosis and Other Stories, by Franz Kafka, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics: New introductions commissioned from today’s top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader’s viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriateAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences biographical, historical, and literary to enrich each reader’s understanding of these enduring works.

Virtually unknown during his lifetime, Franz Kafka is now one of the world’s most widely read and discussed authors. His nightmarish novels and short stories have come to symbolize modern man s anxiety and alienation in a bizarre, hostile, and dehumanized world. This vision is most fully realized in Kafka s masterpiece, The Metamorphosis, a story that is both harrowing and amusing, and a landmark of modern literature.

Bringing together some of Kafka s finest work, this collection demonstrates the richness and variety of the author s artistry. The Judgment, which Kafka considered to be his decisive breakthrough, and The Stoker, which became the first chapter of his novel Amerika, are here included. These two, along with The Metamorphosis, form a suite of stories Kafka referred to as The Sons, and they collectively present a devastating portrait of the modern family.

Also included are In the Penal Colony, a story of a torture machine and its operators and victims, and A Hunger Artist, about the absurdity of an artist trying to communicate with a misunderstanding public. Kafka s lucid, succinct writing chronicles the labyrinthine complexities, the futility laden horror, and the stifling oppressiveness that permeate his vision of modern life.

Jason Baker is a writer of short stories living in Brooklyn, New York.

The Complete Stories

In nonstop color photos Burns takes readers on a voyeuristic journey through a bygone world, illustrating the precious pieces that antique dealers and fleamarketers hotly compete for today. A must for lovers of Americana and nostalgia. 100 four color photos. /Content /EditorialReview EditorialReview Source Amazon. com Review /Source Content How many writers get their own adjective? The work of this terminally alienated master narrator of the subconscious demanded a new descriptor; I guess they gave up and just settled on ‘Kafkaesque.’ But if you ever wonder what the original Kafkaesque work was, take a look here. The book contains all of Kafka’s short and longer stories everything but his three novels. Most of these stories weren’t even published during the author’s lifetime. The widely anthologized The Metamorphosis is here, wherein Gregor Samsa awakes from uneasy dreams to find himself insectoidally transformed, as are equally lovely pieces like A Hunger Artist, A Country Doctor and A Little Woman.

Franz Kafka Stories 1904 – 1924

From the expressionism of his early prose pieces to his very last work, JOSEPHINE, these stories cover the full range of Kafka’s writing career, culminating in THE METAMORPHOSIS, which Elias Canetti described as ‘one of the few great and perfect works of poetic imagination written during this century.’ Kafka’s stories, argues Borges in his foreword, are superior even to his novels, which is why this collection ‘gives us the full dimesion of this unique writer.’ J.A Underwood’s acclaimed translation gives the reader all the chilling atmosphere of Kafka’s darkly comic universe, as reflected in the commanding precision of his language.

Best Short Stories (Die Schonsten Erzahlungen)

Students of German language and literature will welcome this collection of 5 stories by one of the greatest modern writers. Included are ‘The Metamorphosis,’ ‘The Judgment,’ ‘In the Penal Colony,’ ‘A Country Doctor’ and ‘A Report to an Academy.’ Original German texts accompanied by new, literal English translations on facing pages.

Related Authors

Leave a Comment