Kafka

The Early Years

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, European, Eastern European, Biography & Memoir, Literary
Cover of the book Kafka by Reiner Stach, Princeton University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Reiner Stach ISBN: 9781400884476
Publisher: Princeton University Press Publication: October 25, 2016
Imprint: Princeton University Press Language: English
Author: Reiner Stach
ISBN: 9781400884476
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication: October 25, 2016
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Language: English

How did Kafka become Kafka? This eagerly anticipated third and final volume of Reiner Stach's definitive biography of the writer answers that question with more facts and insight than ever before, describing the complex personal, political, and cultural circumstances that shaped the young Franz Kafka (1883–1924). It tells the story of the years from his birth in Prague to the beginning of his professional and literary career in 1910, taking the reader up to just before the breakthrough that resulted in his first masterpieces, including "The Metamorphosis." Brimming with vivid and often startling details, Stach’s narrative invites readers deep inside this neglected period of Kafka’s life. The book’s richly atmospheric portrait of his German Jewish merchant family and his education, psychological development, and sexual maturation draws on numerous sources, some still unpublished, including family letters, schoolmates’ memoirs, and early diaries of his close friend Max Brod.

The biography also provides a colorful panorama of Kafka’s wider world, especially the convoluted politics and culture of Prague. Before World War I, Kafka lived in a society at the threshold of modernity but torn by conflict, and Stach provides poignant details of how the adolescent Kafka witnessed violent outbreaks of anti-Semitism and nationalism. The reader also learns how he developed a passionate interest in new technologies, particularly movies and airplanes, and why another interest—his predilection for the back-to-nature movement—stemmed from his “nervous” surroundings rather than personal eccentricity.

The crowning volume to a masterly biography, this is an unmatched account of how a boy who grew up in an old Central European monarchy became a writer who helped create modern literature.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

How did Kafka become Kafka? This eagerly anticipated third and final volume of Reiner Stach's definitive biography of the writer answers that question with more facts and insight than ever before, describing the complex personal, political, and cultural circumstances that shaped the young Franz Kafka (1883–1924). It tells the story of the years from his birth in Prague to the beginning of his professional and literary career in 1910, taking the reader up to just before the breakthrough that resulted in his first masterpieces, including "The Metamorphosis." Brimming with vivid and often startling details, Stach’s narrative invites readers deep inside this neglected period of Kafka’s life. The book’s richly atmospheric portrait of his German Jewish merchant family and his education, psychological development, and sexual maturation draws on numerous sources, some still unpublished, including family letters, schoolmates’ memoirs, and early diaries of his close friend Max Brod.

The biography also provides a colorful panorama of Kafka’s wider world, especially the convoluted politics and culture of Prague. Before World War I, Kafka lived in a society at the threshold of modernity but torn by conflict, and Stach provides poignant details of how the adolescent Kafka witnessed violent outbreaks of anti-Semitism and nationalism. The reader also learns how he developed a passionate interest in new technologies, particularly movies and airplanes, and why another interest—his predilection for the back-to-nature movement—stemmed from his “nervous” surroundings rather than personal eccentricity.

The crowning volume to a masterly biography, this is an unmatched account of how a boy who grew up in an old Central European monarchy became a writer who helped create modern literature.

More books from Princeton University Press

Cover of the book The Bounds of Reason by Reiner Stach
Cover of the book Coding Freedom by Reiner Stach
Cover of the book Diaspora, Development, and Democracy by Reiner Stach
Cover of the book Americans at the Gate by Reiner Stach
Cover of the book Economic Gangsters by Reiner Stach
Cover of the book Mute Poetry, Speaking Pictures by Reiner Stach
Cover of the book The Many and the One by Reiner Stach
Cover of the book Machiavelli's God by Reiner Stach
Cover of the book The Brooklyn Nobody Knows by Reiner Stach
Cover of the book The Vehement Passions by Reiner Stach
Cover of the book Slaves Tell Tales by Reiner Stach
Cover of the book A Theory of Foreign Policy by Reiner Stach
Cover of the book Investigating the President by Reiner Stach
Cover of the book The Rise and Fall of American Growth by Reiner Stach
Cover of the book After Civil Rights by Reiner Stach
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy