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The Resource Understanding Franz Kafka, Allen Thiher

Understanding Franz Kafka, Allen Thiher

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Author
Summary
An analysis of the life of the eccentric author of The Trial, and his quest for meaning in his work. Franz Kafka is without question one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century despite the fact that much of his work remained unpublished when he died at a relatively young age in 1924. Kafka's eccentric methods of composition and his diffident attitude toward publishing left most of his writing to be edited and published after his death by his literary executor, Max Brod. In Understanding Franz Kafka, Allen Thiher addresses the development of Kafka's work by analyzing it in terms of its chronological unfolding, emphasizing the various phases in Kafka's life that can be discerned in his constant quest to find a meaning for his writing. Thiher also shows that Kafka's work, frequently self-referential, explores the ways literature can have meaning in a world in which writing is a dubious activity. After outlining Kafka's life using new biographical information, Thiher examines Kafka's first attempts at writing, often involving nearly farcical experiments. The study then shows how Kafka's work developed through twists and turns, beginning with the breakthrough stories "The Judgment" and "The Metamorphosis," continuing with his first attempt at a novel with Amerika, and followed by Kafka's shifting back and forth between short fiction and two other unpublished novels, The Trial and The Castle. Thiher also calls on Kafka's notebooks and diaries to help demonstrate that he never stopped experimenting in his attempt to find a literary form that might satisfy his desire to create some kind of transcendental text in an era in which the transcendent is at best an object of nostalgia or of comic derision. In short, Thiher contends, Kafka constantly sought the grounds for writing in a world in which all appears groundless
Language
eng
Work
Instance
Label
Understanding Franz Kafka
Title
Understanding Franz Kafka
Statement of responsibility
Allen Thiher
Creator
Author
Subject
Genre
Language
eng
Summary
An analysis of the life of the eccentric author of The Trial, and his quest for meaning in his work. Franz Kafka is without question one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century despite the fact that much of his work remained unpublished when he died at a relatively young age in 1924. Kafka's eccentric methods of composition and his diffident attitude toward publishing left most of his writing to be edited and published after his death by his literary executor, Max Brod. In Understanding Franz Kafka, Allen Thiher addresses the development of Kafka's work by analyzing it in terms of its chronological unfolding, emphasizing the various phases in Kafka's life that can be discerned in his constant quest to find a meaning for his writing. Thiher also shows that Kafka's work, frequently self-referential, explores the ways literature can have meaning in a world in which writing is a dubious activity. After outlining Kafka's life using new biographical information, Thiher examines Kafka's first attempts at writing, often involving nearly farcical experiments. The study then shows how Kafka's work developed through twists and turns, beginning with the breakthrough stories "The Judgment" and "The Metamorphosis," continuing with his first attempt at a novel with Amerika, and followed by Kafka's shifting back and forth between short fiction and two other unpublished novels, The Trial and The Castle. Thiher also calls on Kafka's notebooks and diaries to help demonstrate that he never stopped experimenting in his attempt to find a literary form that might satisfy his desire to create some kind of transcendental text in an era in which the transcendent is at best an object of nostalgia or of comic derision. In short, Thiher contends, Kafka constantly sought the grounds for writing in a world in which all appears groundless
Member of
Cataloging source
Midwest
http://bibfra.me/vocab/lite/collectionName
hoopla (Digital media service)
http://library.link/vocab/creatorDate
1941-
http://library.link/vocab/creatorName
Thiher, Allen
Dewey number
833/.912
Index
no index present
Literary form
non fiction
Nature of contents
dictionaries
Series statement
Understanding modern European and Latin American literature
http://library.link/vocab/subjectName
  • Kafka, Franz
  • Kafka, Franz
Target audience
adult
Label
Understanding Franz Kafka, Allen Thiher
Link
Instantiates
Publication
Distribution
Carrier category
online resource
Carrier category code
  • cr
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier.
Color
multicolored
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent.
Control code
MWT15019364
Dimensions
unknown
Extent
1 online resource.
Form of item
  • online
  • electronic
Governing access note
Digital content provided by hoopla
Isbn
9781611178296
Isbn Type
(electronic bk.)
Media category
computer
Media MARC source
rdamedia.
Media type code
  • c
Publisher number
MWT15019364
Specific material designation
remote
Stock number
15019364
System details
Mode of access: World Wide Web
Label
Understanding Franz Kafka, Allen Thiher
Link
Publication
Distribution
Carrier category
online resource
Carrier category code
  • cr
Carrier MARC source
rdacarrier.
Color
multicolored
Content category
text
Content type code
  • txt
Content type MARC source
rdacontent.
Control code
MWT15019364
Dimensions
unknown
Extent
1 online resource.
Form of item
  • online
  • electronic
Governing access note
Digital content provided by hoopla
Isbn
9781611178296
Isbn Type
(electronic bk.)
Media category
computer
Media MARC source
rdamedia.
Media type code
  • c
Publisher number
MWT15019364
Specific material designation
remote
Stock number
15019364
System details
Mode of access: World Wide Web

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