Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka was a German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer based in Prague, who is widely regarded as one of the major figures of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of realism and the fantastic. It typically features isolated protagonists facing bizarre or surrealistic predicaments and incomprehensible socio-bureaucratic powers. It has been interpreted as exploring themes of alienation, existential anxiety, guilt, and absurdity. His best known works include the novella The Metamorphosis and novels The Trial and The Castle. The term Kafkaesque has entered English to describe absurd situations like those depicted in his writing.
Books by Franz Kafka
7 books available
The Castle
by Franz Kafka
4.0(44,616)
An uninvited land surveyor seeks acceptance in a distant castle, navigating maddening bureaucracy and elusive authority, and uncovering the absurd truth of human existence.
Letter to the Father/Brief an den Vater
by Franz Kafka
4.0(64,480)
In a piercing, posthumously revealed confession, Franz Kafka examines the stifling paternal authority and deep alienation that shaped his life and art, showing the unbridgeable gap between a son's soul and a father's expectations.
Letters to Milena
by Franz Kafka
3.8(7,654)
In a collection of letters, Franz Kafka reveals his soul to his Czech translator, Milena Jesenská, turning a professional exchange into an intimate and ultimately doomed 'letter love' affair.
The Trial
by Franz Kafka
4.0(234,506)
Accused and trapped in a bewildering legal system, Joseph K. faces a terrifying journey toward an unknown end, revealing modern spiritual crises.
In the Penal Colony
by Franz Kafka
4.0(16,116)
In a desolate penal colony, a traveler witnesses a horrific execution machine that embodies a chilling, self-justifying system of justice, forcing him to confront the dark heart of power and the terrifying absence of due process.
The Metamorphosis
by Franz Kafka
3.8(643,254)
Awakening as a monstrous insect, Gregor Samsa struggles with family disappointment and his own growing isolation, not with the horror of his new form.
Metamorphosis
by Franz Kafka
4.8(5)
When Gregor Samsa wakes up as a monstrous insect, his sudden change tears apart his family's sense of duty and reveals their cold indifference.