Scan barcode
dalallie's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I am feeling some incredibly hollow and hopeless feelings
inunui's review against another edition
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Weird, funny, frightening, challenging. Kafka's work has always been enjoyably obtuse, and I think here, the humor of the absurdity shines through. Catch-22 for the Great War.
Muirs' translation on my end (an edition from 1968) was a bit prone to mistakes, a bit hard to read due to being formatted in long block paragraphs. Are the others this way? I don't know! But I will say that the Muirs have a way with words. The humor is rather clear, descriptions are quite nice, and the translation doesn't bother to trample Kafka's eccentric narration. Maybe look for a translation that's formatted more for modern readers, if such a thing even exists.
Muirs' translation on my end (an edition from 1968) was a bit prone to mistakes, a bit hard to read due to being formatted in long block paragraphs. Are the others this way? I don't know! But I will say that the Muirs have a way with words. The humor is rather clear, descriptions are quite nice, and the translation doesn't bother to trample Kafka's eccentric narration. Maybe look for a translation that's formatted more for modern readers, if such a thing even exists.
obrimus's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
iahk's review against another edition
4.5
“Die Logik ist unerschütterlich, aber einem Menschen, der leben will, widersteht sie nicht.”
aayu5's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
rachel_o_reads's review against another edition
May come back to this one one day but it was just not hooking me in like my other current reads
quenchgum's review against another edition
5.0
Yeah, the book’s weird. It’s bleak and alienating and, at the very least, frustrating. It’s also confusing: at their best, most points only *almost* make sense, and nothing is ever neatly resolved. I probably wouldn’t recommend it to most readers that want to, like, you know, enjoy what they’re reading.
Does that make for a bad novel? I don’t know. I don’t necessarily think so. This stuff reads to me as art. Kafka’s clearly a master at subverting the narrative boundaries most novels follow. Even though it makes for a basically unsatisfying read, it’s also what allows him to take this book to places that other books can’t reach. Kafka creates a tense, haunting atmosphere that’s so electric it seeps out of the pages and starts making you question everything else that’s going on around you. It’s hard to capture what it’s about and yet it creates a feeling that you’ll keep seeing everywhere you go.
Four and a half stars, bumped up to five stars bc it’s giving me nightmares (bad) but making me rethink my career (good).
P.S. Just while we’re here, I like to think that Kafka — had he known that Max Brod would publish all this stuff — probably would have wanted Brod to be just a little less stingy with the paragraph breaks. Am I right??
P.P.S. Kafka’s women are just as empty as Murakami’s or DFW’s (two authors I love). Not sure if I need to lower my expectations or if I should start a “women as wenches” bookshelf or what.
Does that make for a bad novel? I don’t know. I don’t necessarily think so. This stuff reads to me as art. Kafka’s clearly a master at subverting the narrative boundaries most novels follow. Even though it makes for a basically unsatisfying read, it’s also what allows him to take this book to places that other books can’t reach. Kafka creates a tense, haunting atmosphere that’s so electric it seeps out of the pages and starts making you question everything else that’s going on around you. It’s hard to capture what it’s about and yet it creates a feeling that you’ll keep seeing everywhere you go.
Four and a half stars, bumped up to five stars bc it’s giving me nightmares (bad) but making me rethink my career (good).
P.S. Just while we’re here, I like to think that Kafka — had he known that Max Brod would publish all this stuff — probably would have wanted Brod to be just a little less stingy with the paragraph breaks. Am I right??
P.P.S. Kafka’s women are just as empty as Murakami’s or DFW’s (two authors I love). Not sure if I need to lower my expectations or if I should start a “women as wenches” bookshelf or what.
transfigurations's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Kafka I love your ungeziefer but this didn't hit
st1nar's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0