Franz Kafka Books

Franz Kafka Books

Here's a comprehensive guide to Franz Kafka's books, structured to answer your specific questions with clear headings and key details:

📚 Which Book Was Authored by Franz Kafka?

Kafka authored these seminal works:
✅ The Metamorphosis (1915)
✅ The Trial (1925, posthumous)
✅ The Castle (1926, posthumous)
✅ Amerika (1927, posthumous)
✅ Contemplation (1913, short stories)
❌ Common Misattributions:

  • The Stranger (Albert Camus)

  • Nausea (Jean-Paul Sartre)

  • *1984* (George Orwell)

🌀 What Are Kafka's Books About?

Kafka’s works explore:

  • Alienation & Identity: Characters grapple with unexplained transformations (e.g., Gregor Samsa becoming an insect in The Metamorphosis).

  • Absurd Bureaucracy: Endless, illogical systems (The Trial’s courts, The Castle’s officials).

  • Existential Dread: Protagonists face meaningless struggles against unseen forces.

  • Guilt & Powerlessness: Individuals crushed by societal/authoritarian structures beyond their control.

"Kafkaesque": Term describing surreal, oppressive complexity mirroring modern bureaucracy.

📊 How Many Books Did Kafka Write? (Published vs. Unpublished)

Category Count Key Examples
Published in Lifetime 4 The Metamorphosis, Contemplation, The Stoker (later part of Amerika), A Country Doctor
Major Posthumous Novels 3 The Trial, The Castle, Amerika
Short Story Collections 5+ A Hunger Artist, The Great Wall of China, The Burrow
Total Works 50+ (incl. novellas, stories, diaries)

Important Notes:

  1. Kafka requested his unpublished manuscripts be burned. His friend Max Brod ignored this, publishing his major novels posthumously.

  2. Many "books" are compilations of his parables and short fiction.

✍️ What Books Did Kafka Write? (Major Titles)

  1. The Metamorphosis (1915)

    • Plot: Salesman Gregor Samsa wakes up as a giant insect; family’s rejection mirrors societal alienation.

  2. The Trial (1925)

    • Plot: Josef K. is arrested by a faceless court for an unnamed crime; spirals into existential despair.

  3. The Castle (1926)

    • Plot: Land surveyor "K." battles village bureaucracy to access a mysterious castle.

  4. Amerika (1927)

    • Plot: Teenager Karl Rossmann navigates surreal America after being exiled from Europe.

  5. Short Story Collections:

    • A Country Doctor (1919): Dreamlike tales of failed authority figures.

    • A Hunger Artist (1924): Performance artists embodying futility.

🖋️ What Kind of Books Does Kafka Write?

Kafka’s style is defined by:

  • Genre: Absurdist fiction, existential literature, modernist parables.

  • Tone: Claustrophobic, darkly comic, psychologically intense.

  • Narrative Style: Precise realism mixed with surreal nightmares; open-ended conclusions.

  • Thematic Focus:

    • Powerlessness of the individual

    • Dehumanization in modern society

    • Spiritual and bureaucratic labyrinths

⚠️ Critical Context

  • Language: Wrote in German, though lived in Prague (now Czech Republic).

  • Legacy: Termed "Kafkaesque" for works capturing irrational authority. Influenced Borges, Camus, Murakami.

  • Reading Tip: Start with The Metamorphosis (accessible) before tackling The Trial or The Castle.

"A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us." — Franz Kafka

For curated Kafka collections, visit 99Bookscart.com. Explore his haunting vision of the modern world!

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