So, I’ve curated a preliminary bibliography drawing from my library to structure our yearlong exploration of Franz Kafka’s works. This is not an exhaustive list but a tailored "To Be Read" selection.
A few notes before we begin:
For one thing, I’ll primarily use the English translations from the Schocken collection. There are a few exceptions where I'll consult alternate renditions, such as the older Muir, the newer Hofmann translations, or Vialatte's French version. While my German proficiency is rusty (to say the least), I may occasionally refer to Kafka's original texts if I’m feeling particularly high-spirited or irritated by some translations...
For another thing, you'll also notice a solid French bent in my selection of critical works below, with authors like Camus, Sarraute, Kundera, Deleuze, Blanchot, and Marthe Robert featuring prominently. This simply reflects my familiarity with the French literary tradition's engagement with Kafka. I’m sure there are many outstanding Kafka critics in other languages, but I must confess I don’t know them all that well… You, gentle readers, will be my guides more than I’ll be yours.
Of course, this list is subject to change. As we proceed, the reading list will inevitably ramify in all sorts of directions.
Works by Kafka
Novels
Amerika (aka The Missing Person)
The Trial
The Castle
Short Fiction
The Complete Stories
The Lost Writings
Diaries & Notebooks
The Diaries of Franz Kafka (Ross Benjamin translation)
The Blue Octavo Notebooks
Zürau Aphorisms
Letters
Letters to Friends, Family, and Editors
Letters to Ottla and the Family
Letters to Felice
Letters to Milena
Letter to the Father
Other
The Office Writings
Critical Works & Biographies
Max Brod, Franz Kafka (The author’s first and best-known biography, by one of his closest friends)
Gustav Janouch, Conversations with Kafka (Another book by another of Kafka’s friends)
Albert Camus. Le mythe de Sisyphe (The Myth of Sisyphus—The appendix contains some existentialist reflections on Kafka and the ‘absurd’)
Milan Kundera, L’art du Roman (The Art of the Novel)
Milan Kundera, Les testaments trahis (Testaments Betrayed)
Milan Kundera, Le Rideau (The Curtain)
Gilles Deleuze & Félix Guattari, Kafka, pour une littérature mineure (Kafka: Toward a Minor Literature)
Maurice Blanchot, De Kafka à Kafka
Elias Canetti, Kafka’s Other Trial
Nathalie Sarraute, L'Ère du soupçon (especially the first essay on Dostoevsky and Kafka)
Marthe Robert, Seul comme Franz Kafka
Marthe Robert, L'ancien et le nouveau (aka From Don Quixote to Kafka)
Klaus Wagenbach, Franz Kafka, Pictures of a Life
Reiner Stach, Kafka: The Early Years
Reiner Stach, Kafka: The Decisive Years
Reiner Stach, Kafka: The Years of Insight
Adaptations & Other Funsies
Graphic adaptations/illustrations
Crumb & Mairowitz, Kafka
Nishioka Kuodai, Kafka
Moritz Stetter, Das Urteil
Kruper, The Metamorphosis
Corbeyran & Horne, Die Verwandlung
Ricard & Maël, Dans la colonie pénitentiaire
Montellier & Mairowitz, The Trial
Götting, Le Procès
Jaromir 99 & Maitowitz, Das Schloss
Movies
Orson Welles, The Trial
Steven Soderbergh, Kafka
Aleksei Balabanov, The Castle
Michael Haneke, The Castle
Koji Yamamura, A Country Doctor
There are more indie short and animated films than I can count. Obviously, many films aren’t explicit adaptations but are definitely inspired by Kafka, like Cronenberg’s The Fly and Naked Lunch, or Lynch’s Eraserhead and The Elephant Man.
Anyway, there you go. Is there anything significant I've overlooked? Please share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments below. I'm excited to embark on this literary adventure together!
Next time, we'll begin by exploring Kafka's earliest available texts, primarily letters and short stories from his teenage years, allowing us to trace the development of his unique literary voice.
very excited! thank you :)