Well, he should have said, "The books I need...". My needs are quite like his.
That is not to say I don't enjoy a lighthearted book as well. But I drop everything I am doing to immerse myself in the kind of book he describes.
I have read many books that were powerfully written, thoughtful and wise, and touched me deeply. Thankfully, none of those have made me feel that I was on the "verge of suicide", filled me with suffering like the "death of someone I loved more than myself", or made me feel that I was lost in a forest "remote from all human habitation." I read to be entertained and/or enlightened. Not to become hopelessly depressed! I'm afraid that, had I met Mr. Kafka, I would have felt the need to say, "Gee. Lighten up!"
I love this group for its members who are all different, yet united in our love of books. It's so much fun! Lively discussion, great recommendations, no hard feelings (I hope). Would Kafka have enjoyed huimself here? Probably, and I think he would have felt challenged too. Did he have any friends? I don't know his history.
None of the Kafka I've read was very heart-ripping. Bleak, yes, and sometimes quite funny. I do like books that make me cry, though, so I like his idea about breaking up the frozen sea within us. But not everyone is a frozen sea. And I really don't like books that leave me, after I have turned the last page, with a feeling of hopelessness. Probably the largest number of readers are looking for reassurance from books, a happy ending that says, "Everybody has troubles, but there are ways to work through them and reach happiness." Even books that end tragically can do this for people, if it's possible to think through the story and see where the main character made a wrong choice, or how society can be changed so it nurtures people rather than harming them.
July 3, yesterday, was Kafka's birthday. How appropriate that
searching1 brought him to our attention. Here is an extremely fine biography of Franz Kafka:
view link
posted by rapa
4 months ago
The link was a moving and elucidating summary of Kafka's life - thanks once again for sharing the fruits of your research with us, rapa. Kafka was a complex and haunted man whose often dark and fatalistic views were not at all out of line with many German and eastern European philosophers of his time. My earlier response was overly light and glib regarding Kafka and I'm glad others responded with more accurate and thoughtful assessments. I especially like WorldSoWide's insightful summary of which factors can render a serious and/or tragic story hopeful and helpful to its readers. While I do read mainly for entertainment, I also appreciate good fiction (particularly historical) that reflects the often tragic and dark episodes in human history and the dark sides of human nature underlying such events.
Maybe it's easier to get a hopeful message from a tragic historical novel than from a contemporary novel with a tragic ending. When we read historical novels, we can see that society has changed quite dramatically in many ways, even if some nagging problems are still with us. It gives us a perspective that says that, because of things we can do today, the future of the world can become as much better in the future as it became from historical times to today.
I love historical novels. It's fun to look back and put myself in that time and place for awhile... be it prehistoric, 12th Century, 1800's out west or as recently as WWII.
Mostly They make me appreciate what I have and realize how lucky I am to be born in the here and now.
posted by carci
4 months ago
I never answered my own question. I think each of Kafka's characterizations might apply to a different book, rather than all of them applying to one.
The book that serverd "as the ax for the frozen sea within" me was Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek
I agree that Annie Dillard's book would be such a good one to break the frozen sea.
I felt the same way about an old book which was translated as: "The Way Of Transformation: Daily Life as a Spiritual Exercise".by Karfried Graf von Dürckheim. The English versions now seem to be out of print but the original German is available and is called "Der Alltag als Ubung".
The writing seems arcane and strange but somehow it made perfect sense to me and I always feel that it "opens me up" when I read it.
posted by Raouf
4 months ago
