Willa Muir

Franz Kafka

Stories and Short Pieces

The Penal Colony

Devin Ware

Something that I love about Kafka is that I am able to enjoy and feel spiritual experiences from reading him even if I have no clue what is going on in the story. Examples include "A Judgment" and "A Country Doctor." These stories feel like the literary equivalent of a David Lynch short, and to try and parse out a meaning from them feels to me almost an injustice (though I could be naive in that respect). Even during stories where I can come up with an idea as to "the meaning of it all," such as "In the Penal Colony" and "The Metamorphosis," there still remains an underlying surrealism that carries with it a hint of unidentified menace. I find myself unsure whether to laugh, cry, or hide. That is the beauty of these stories to me. I need a break from Kafka for the moment, but I am excited that there is so much more of his work that I have not encountered yet.

"This powerful collection brings together all the stories Kafka allowed to be published during his lifetime."--Back cover.

I will always love Franz Kafka, both as a writer and as a person. His writing is elegant, thoughtful, bizarre, and deeply human. He makes gloominess into honey that drips from your lips and down your chin, and he holds your hand as the two of you walk through the darker corners of the human heart. He is a joy taking the form of a mourning bell. Just read him.

The Penal Colony Stories and Short Pieces