I am really disappointed for not being able to finish the Diaries of Franz Kafka. I could read only 60 pages of that diary but they appealed to me a lot. I learnt the actual meaning and sense behind the word kafkaesque, however not reading the entire diary will remain a regret to me, till i finish it, since the real pulchritude of this writer cum philospher's opus can only be beheld when one has been through the entire 13 years of his chronicles, however a little disordered.
His diary, at a few places, includes some short stories, and instances of his near ones being not very much impressed by these stories. One such instance is when he visited his grandparents and was writing a novel on two brothers. He continued his work at the dining table when his uncle snatched his paper, read it, and uttered,"usual stuff".
This clearly reveals the aura of despairity he had built around himself which affected his friends and family as well.
Wherever he went, he never forgot to notice the women, however in a desperate way. As if he was in search of a comapanion. This is eloquent in a page from the year 1910 where he writes, "I went past the brothel as if going past the house of a lover". However his description of a woman's beauty is really impressive. Beginning with her locks he crawls down to her feet, he writes about all her tangible and intangible elegance.
The review however will be incomplete if I don't mention that the diary, originally written in German, was interpreted in English by Max Brod, a close friend of Franz, who went against Franz's will of burning all his works by getting them published instead. He instructed his friend ""Dearest Max, my last request: Everything I leave behind me ... in the way of diaries, manuscripts, letters (my own and others'), sketches, and so on, is to be burned unread." While Max overrode his will and published them
Franz Kafka is regarded as the one of the renowned writer's on the philosophy of existentialism, which believes that an individual is solely resposible for achieving fulfilment in his life. The early few pages of his diaires have severely criticised the education methods he was introduced to, and he believed that he could have been better off without it.
While reading the book of a great philosopher, of whose philosophy people rarely accept (except for the widespread one,"I was born intelligent but education ruined me."), was a great experience for me, I personally don't prefer to read litery works on hopelessness in my holidays. Hence I returned it, only to reissue it at some later date.
Note: Readers can read Franz Kafka's Diaries from this link http://kafka.metameat.net/archives/1910.php?en
1 comment:
well your review is really moving.i m thinking of trying to read it.though i m not able to apprehend such philosophies but i think i should gibe it a try.
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