Franz Kafka: A Review of Introducing Kafka by Mairowitz & Crumb

Introduction

This report presents findings from a study and research of Franz Kafka, focusing specifically on the work by David Zane Mairowitz and Robert Crumb entitled Introducing Kafka. Although there are literally thousands of books, articles, and journals that cover Kafka in one way or another, this report hones in on the famous author through that single volume. "Virtually unknown during his lifetime, the works of Kafka have since been recognized as symbolizing modern man's anxiety-ridden and grotesque alienation in an unintelligible, hostile, or indifferent world" (Franz Kafka 1883–1924).

This particular work is a perfect introduction to the life and times of Franz Kafka because it provides insight in an entertaining and comical manner. The book is a well-crafted mix of illustrated biography and witty adaptation. Although I had read some of Kafka's work prior to this experience, I feel it would suffice as an excellent beginning for those who have never encountered Kafka's genius, while also serving as a platform to a new level of understanding for those who have already read and love the author's works. Mairowitz as writer and Crumb as illustrator allow the reader to visualize the peculiar and at times eccentric world found in Kafka's fiction. What makes this work especially valuable is that it covers all of the major texts, including "The Judgment," "The Trial," "The Castle," "A Hunger Artist," and "The Metamorphosis." Many feel Kafka lived in a glass house, and these adaptations may have made that more true than ever before.

Franz Kafka: Life and Literary Legacy

Franz Kafka was born in Prague on July 3, 1883, and lived until June 3, 1924. Most consider him a German-language novelist, and he is also regarded as one of the most — and possibly the most — influential authors of the 20th century. His middle-class Jewish Bohemian heritage has been credited as the source for his vast insights into the inner workings of the mind, while his life in Prague is credited with shaping his understanding of social class. As one commentator observed: "Of course this is one reason, one very powerful reason, for this obsession with power — his feelings about his father, which he summed up in the famous letter to his father, which is, to my mind, one of the most compelling pieces of personal literature that anybody has ever read or written in our time. Always in very strong imagery; he sees his father as laying down across the entire map of Europe, for example, and covering that much territory" (Radio National). Kafka was a bright man who studied law and was employed as a legal clerk in the workmen's compensation division of the Austro-Hungarian government. "The feeling of impotence, even in his rebellion, was a syndrome that became a pervasive theme in his fiction. Kafka did well in the prestigious German high school in Prague and went on to receive a law degree in 1906" (Franz Kafka 1883–1924).

Ironically, his being an author was not well known during his lifetime, and in fact many of his greatest literary achievements were published posthumously. "None of Kafka's novels was printed during his lifetime, and it was only with reluctance that he published a fraction of his shorter fiction" (Franz Kafka 1883–1924). His works include major novels such as the 1925 Der Prozess, translated as The Trial; the 1937 Das Schloss, translated as The Castle; and his Amerika, thought to be the first novel he wrote (around 1913) but the last to be published. Kafka was a naturally gifted author who, as we now know, wrote in a clear and highly precise manner. His writing presents his world in a dreamlike way in which characters are heavily burdened with guilt, isolation, stress, and anxiety.

These characters — and most experts believe he was writing about himself, though this remains speculation — are constantly engaged in futile searches for personal salvation from whatever burden they perceive to be chaining them. "Kafka lived his life in emotional dependence on his parents, whom he both loved and resented. None of his largely unhappy love affairs could wean him from this inner dependence; though he longed to marry, he never did. Sexually, he apparently oscillated between an ascetic aversion to intercourse, which he called 'the punishment for being together,' and an attraction to prostitutes. Sex in Kafka's writings is frequently connected with dirt or guilt and treated as an attractive abomination" (Franz Kafka 1883–1924).

There is little doubt that no college education today is complete without a student reading Kafka's masterpiece short story Die Verwandlung, translated as The Metamorphosis, in which Kafka's real world transforms a poor soul into a nightmare of transformation that resonates with the feelings many of us encounter in our day-to-day lives. Some of Kafka's other important stories include the 1913 Das Urteil, translated as "The Judgment"; the 1919 Ein Landarzt, translated as "A Country Doctor"; the 1920 In der Strafkolonie, translated as "In the Penal Colony"; and the 1922 Ein Hungerkünstler, translated as "A Hunger Artist."

Conclusion

"The great European writer Franz Kafka is the only 20th-century figure to have a whole program in the Encounter Century Series devoted to him. It could be argued that it was Kafka who, more than any other artist, captured the 20th-century zeitgeist in his work" (Radio National). The sheer volume of books, articles, and journals covering Franz Kafka's life is overwhelming. However, this report focused specifically on the work by David Zane Mairowitz and Robert Crumb entitled Introducing Kafka.

This book is an excellent introduction to the life and times of Franz Kafka, offering insights in an entertaining and illuminating manner. It represents a well-crafted blend of illustration and biography by two very talented individuals. Having read many of Kafka's works prior to encountering this volume, it is clear that Introducing Kafka would make a superb first read for someone being introduced to Kafka for the first time, while also offering new insights for those already well-read on the subject. Mairowitz and Crumb together paint a vivid picture of the eccentric world and life of Franz Kafka by touching on all of his great works: "The Judgment," "The Trial," "The Castle," "A Hunger Artist," and "The Metamorphosis."

Works Cited

Franz Kafka (1883–1924). Retrieved 12 June 2005, from <

Mairowitz, David Zane, and Robert Crumb. Introducing Kafka. Cambridge: Icon Books, 2000.

Radio National. Franz Kafka. Ed. ABC.NET. 21 November 1999. Retrieved 12 June 2005, from <http://www.abc.net.au/rn/relig/enc/stories/s70778.htm>.