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Max Brod, a successful novelist, was a boyhood companion of Kafka's and remained closely tied to him until Kafka's death in 1924. He was undoubtedly the one man whom Kafka trusted more than any other, and it is to Brod, as his literary executor and editor, that we are indebted for rescuing and bringing to light Kafka's work. Out of a lifelong devoted friendship, Brod drew this account of Kafka's youth, family and friends, his struggle to recognize himself as a writer, his sickness, and his last days. Franz Kafka gives us not only a more vivid and lifelike picture of Kafka than that painted by any of his contemporaries, but also a fascinating portrayal of the complicated interaction between two writers of different temperaments but similar backgrounds who together helped shape the future of twentieth-century literature.
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FRANZ KAFKA, son of Hermann and Julie Kafka, was born in Prague, July 3, 1883. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
FRANZ KAFKA, son of Hermann and Julie Kafka, was born in Prague, July 3, 1883. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
You can almost forgive max brod for rifling through his friend's desk and then publishing everything in it against his friend's wishes, for when reading this biography it becomes apparent how much max brod adored kafka as a friend and as a writer. Although only a slim volume, it covers a large section of kafka's life in detail, much of which isn't apparent in his diaries. It also offers intelligent discussion on kafka's writing and how it could be seen as a reflection of how he lived. But best of all, this is a unique biography of kafka because it is written by someone who knew him exceptionally well and often more enjoyable than the detached intellectual analysis that is usually found on the subject of kafka.
Format:Paperback
Max Brode wrote an unusual type of biography. After I have read it I found a very different Kafka than I knew before. It is written with lot of care and consideration. I have read Kafka's diaries before but wihout reading Max Brod's biography of Kafka I could not feel that I knew Kafka at all. It was written beautifully, years after losing one's closest, and much loved friend. It is very much understandible that Max Brod could not bring himself to write before. I find the translation very good also. My only regret is I have read it too late.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
A breath of fresh air into the cluttered corridors of academic supplication. Max cuts through the verbage to bring to life his frienship with Kafka. A very close form of friendship but also struck with estrangement.
Kafka and Brod share letters, insights and moments. Brod brings to life the moments just before after WW1 brnging together the novels and how they weaved with everyday life.
He touches upon Kafka's Jewish identity which he was ambivalent about, his anarchism which he had a keen interest in until 1912 and his turbulent love life and finally his illness which killed him.
Unlike many treatises on Kafka this is pleasant to read and provides insight rather than pomposity. Max was absorbed with Zionism and so the book gives a particular slant to his pre-occupation as there are numerous references to Jewish identity. All Kafka's sisters were murdered in concentration camps so this has a great pertinence. The Jews in Prague had also been subject to severe sanctions up until the 1850's and restricted to their own quarter in the city.
The biography read with a slightly ebullient gloriousity whilst capturing the moments of insight gleaned from reading and discussion. This makes it a worthwhile accompaniment but there also appears something missing as Kafka on the "front" appeared an amiable serious academic but on the inside his shyness was acute. The bullying by his father is fairly glossed over as are the humiliations that must have rained down on young academics in a society undergoing all types of transition.
This only leads to a greater enigma. Kafka comes across as a type of Ian Curtis of his time, young full of insight but riddled with self torture,one developed TB, the other epilepsy and out of the maelstorm beautiful pieces of emotional architecture emerged. However the real jig saw pieces appear to be blanks.
Kafka and Brod share letters, insights and moments. Brod brings to life the moments just before after WW1 brnging together the novels and how they weaved with everyday life.
He touches upon Kafka's Jewish identity which he was ambivalent about, his anarchism which he had a keen interest in until 1912 and his turbulent love life and finally his illness which killed him.
Unlike many treatises on Kafka this is pleasant to read and provides insight rather than pomposity. Max was absorbed with Zionism and so the book gives a particular slant to his pre-occupation as there are numerous references to Jewish identity. All Kafka's sisters were murdered in concentration camps so this has a great pertinence. The Jews in Prague had also been subject to severe sanctions up until the 1850's and restricted to their own quarter in the city.
The biography read with a slightly ebullient gloriousity whilst capturing the moments of insight gleaned from reading and discussion. This makes it a worthwhile accompaniment but there also appears something missing as Kafka on the "front" appeared an amiable serious academic but on the inside his shyness was acute. The bullying by his father is fairly glossed over as are the humiliations that must have rained down on young academics in a society undergoing all types of transition.
This only leads to a greater enigma. Kafka comes across as a type of Ian Curtis of his time, young full of insight but riddled with self torture,one developed TB, the other epilepsy and out of the maelstorm beautiful pieces of emotional architecture emerged. However the real jig saw pieces appear to be blanks.
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