The Great Wall of China: And Other Short Works (Penguin Modern Classics)

This particular edition of Kafka's unfinished works is just as breathtaking as his complete novels and world-known works. Yet, this little volume is the one that has the power to captivate the reader at an intrinsically personal level, ample with spiritual connotations. This is particularly the case with the two brief chapters compiling his aphorisms. Albeit "The Great Wall of China" being the one story that has monopolized the heading of the book, the content and the life-shifting power of his unfinished stories would better fit under the title of another, a smaller story - "An Everyday Occurrence"...As you'll see from the cover The Sunday Times has reviewed this collection of Kafka's works as definitive "of the soul of modern man".

He is known as a harsh observer of the world of the 20th century. Nevertheless, every piece of story and advise he has for us, transcends wisdoms from ancient worlds and/or call for fundamentally religious values. The merge of both distinctive worlds is thus delivered in a conundrum of contemporary art objects that masterfully transcend a subconsciously elegant truth, such as: "Everyone is kind to A., rather in the way that one tries to protect an excellent billiard-table even from good players, until such time as the great player arrives, who carefully examines the surface, will tolerate no premature blemish, but then, when he begins play himself, lets himself go with ruthless fury". To me it resonates a masterful painting and this tiny volume contains at least 200 of them.

It's a definite buy. The only reason I gave a 4 star for it is because I found the editor's preface too concise. Authored by Malcolm Pasley, an Oxford Emeritus Fellow, known as the most notorious of Kafka editors, the passage should have paid an extended tribute to Kafka's unfinished works.

Interesting companion for Kafka completists (6/8 people found this helpful)

Franz Kafka has to be one of the most important authors of the 20th century. His style has influenced a whole genre and even a word to describe it - Kafkaesque.

Works like The Castle and The Trial are true classics, unlike anything you've ever read before, so it's no surprise that other unpublished material has been trawled through and published for completist fans.

This set of stories - many of them uncompleted - has the mark of Kafka's style, but the quality varies considerably and is not a true reflection on his best work. Longer, later works like The Burrow and Investigations of a Dog are worth the wait, but others are mere sketches that give an insight into his workings but little else.

If you've never read Kafka before, don't start here - start with the full length novels. If you've read everything and can't get enough, this may just keep you satisfied for a while.

The Great Wall of China: And Other Short Works (Penguin Modern Classics)

Franz Kafka

Reader Reviews:

An Everyday Occurrence (3/3 people found this helpful)

Interesting companion for Kafka completists (6/8 people found this helpful)

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