Contemplation / Edition 2

by Franz Kafka, Kevin Blahut

Overview

Contemplation, Kafka's first published book (1913), was one of the few to appear in his lifetime. Composed of eighteen short prose poems, the book as a whole displays the full range of Kafka's compact metaphorical style. In this new translation, Blahut has been faithful to the original German while rendering it in a fresh, contemporary English. This edition is complimented by eighteen black & white illustrations, attesting to the lasting inspiration of Kafka's prose.

The three volumes Twisted Spoon Press has published Contemplation, A Country Doctor, and A Hunger Artist represent the collections of stories that Kafka had published during his lifetime. Though each volume has its own distinctive character, they have most often appeared in English in collected editions. They are presented here in new translations, each with its own illustrator from the Prague community.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9788090217157
Publisher:	Twisted Spoon Press
Publication date:	09/01/1998
Series:	Short Prose of Franz Kafka Series , #1
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	70
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.00(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Franz Kafka, was born in Prague July 3, 1883. The son of a middle-class Jewish family, his father owned a shop on the corner of Kinsky Palace on Old Town Square. Kafka studied at the German Gymnasium in Prague and went on to receive a law degree in 1906, later working for the Workers' Accident Insurance Co. Among his best known works are "The Metamorphosis," "The Trial," "In the Penal Colony," and "The Castle." He died of tuberculosis on June 3, 1924 and is buried in Prague's New Jewish Cemetery.

Date of Birth:

July 3, 1883

Date of Death:

June 3, 1924

Place of Birth:

Prague, Austria-Hungary

Place of Death:

Vienna, Austria

Education:

German elementary and secondary schools. Graduated from German Charles-Ferdinand University of Prague.

Read an Excerpt

The People Running By When one is taking a walk through the street at night, and a man already visible from a distance because the street rises in front of us and the moon is full runs toward us, we will not tackle him, even if he is weak and ragged, even if someone is running behind him and screaming, but we will let him continue running.
Because it is night, and we cannot do anything about the street's rising in front of us in the full moon, and besides, maybe these two have staged this chase for their own entertainment, maybe both of them are pursuing a third, maybe the first man is being pursued even though he is innocent, maybe the second man wants to kill him and we will become accomplices to the murder, maybe the two of them know nothing about one another and each is going independently to his bed, maybe they are sleepwalkers, maybe the first man is armed.

And after all, don't we have a right to be tired, haven't we drunk a lot of wine? We are happy when the second man has also vanished from sight.

Editorial Reviews

"I can well imagine this book finding its way into the hands of someone whose life is instantly changed by it." — Max Brod, März

"This volume seems to have paved the way to Parnassus. It is profound, having been created by the most delicate of fingers." — Kurt Tucholsky, Prager Tagblatt

"Rhythmic like the lament of a forlorn maiden, this exceptionally mature work exhibits the light touch of the French prose masters." — Otto Pick, Bohemia

From the Publisher