To say that Franz Kafka’s writing is bizarre is to miss the point. It was bizarre, yes, but with an astounding precision and detail as to raise it to high literary achievement. Critics consider him to be a major figure in 20th century literature.
His novella, The Metamorphosis, was first published in 1915, first as a story in a literary magazine and then as a book. It deals with a traveling salesman who wakes up to find himself transformed into an insect, and his efforts to consider the consequences of his situation and to cope with it.
The absurd and surrealistic difficulties facing Kafka's protagonists have been interpreted as commentary on bureaucratic and socio-economic oppression facing people in the modern world.
Franz Kafka died in 1924 at age 40. He never knew the fame his work would eventually achieve. Had it not been for his lifelong friend, Max Brod, who became a journalist, author, and composer, much of Kafka’s work might never have been published. Kafka told his friend he wanted his work destroyed. Brod ignored him and had his work published after his death.
Kafka wrote in German, and his work wasn’t published in English until 1930. Scottish novelists and translators Edwin and Willa Muir were responsible for early translations of Kafka’s major works, including The Metamorphosis, The Castle, and The Trial. Over the decades, Kafka’s work has been retranslated and republished many times.
And he continues to intrigue readers and scholars in the 21st century. To say that there’s more to Franz Kafka than meets the eye may be an understatement. We’re intrigued by his quotation about books. Suffice to say there undoubtedly will be some Kafka and so much more available at the Florida Antiquarian Book Fair.
We hope we’ll see you at the book fair on Saturday and Sunday, March 1-2, 2025 at The Coliseum in downtown St. Petersburg.
Tickets are available at Eventbrite.com. Just search for the 2025 book fair. You also can visit our website at floridaantiquarianbookfair.com.
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