[stylist] On Kafka
Jacobson, Shawn D
Shawn.D.Jacobson at hud.gov
Wed Dec 7 12:53:13 UTC 2011
I read Metamorphosis and The Hunger Artist; I got the second story a little better than the first. I'm with you about Germans, not that they're strange but that the cultural background is a little different. Smile.
Shawn
-----Original Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Bridgit Pollpeter
Sent: Tuesday, December 06, 2011 5:50 PM
To: stylist at nfbnet.org
Subject: [stylist] On Kafka
Brenda,
Kafka weaved his political and religious views into most his writing. He
uses magical realism a lot, which can be anything from a heightened
sense of reality to including a magical thread into a reality-based
story. I've only read Metamorphosis, which is intended as a metaphor,
but it is a bit strange. Also keep in mind that Kafka is German, and
those Germans can be a bit strange, smile! His reading isn't light
reading, and I think reading work like his is supplemented by a
discussion since there will ultimately be different interpretations and
opinions since his work is largely political in nature.
Sincerely,
Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter
Read my blog at:
http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
"History is not what happened; history is what was written down."
The Expected One- Kathleen McGowan
Message: 29
Date: Tue, 06 Dec 2011 00:01:52 -0500
From: Brenda <bjnite at windstream.net>
To: Writer's Division Mailing List <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Subject: Re: [stylist] More on a book discussion/review
Message-ID: <4EDDA1C0.8040407 at windstream.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
I normally don't read horror except Dean Kunzt. I only read Seize the
Night and the sequel because my boss loaned me the books years ago. I
like how the hero had a disability that he overcame. I did find a
little too much explaining and not just showing by his actions, but it
was good that a person with a disability was shown in a positive light.
I have read some Sue Grafton books. A is for Alibi, B is for Burglary,
etc because they were sent by NLS when i was receiving books from them.
They are light reading and I like the descriptions.
I read the short story "A Country Doctor" by Franz Kafka in college. I
never understood it, so I read it again while I was at the hotel after
my fire. I still don't understand Kafka. That short story was in a
collection of his works so I read a few more. They were really weird,
and despite the explanatory notes, I still don't understand him. I
don't consider them horror, just surreal and really weird.
I have enjoyed James Michener. You can really get a history lesson
reading his books. Thing is, he covers a lot of minorities - historical
accounts of what happened to the Native Americans and the African
Americans and how they were treated but I have never found a character
in his books who had a disability. This stood out after I began reading
"Why I burned my book and other stories" (can't remember the author, but
it was on BARD) |where it was pointed out that people with disabilities
were often kept from immigrating to the united States
Well, it is late and there are lots of things I could fix in the above,
but if I didn't post now I never would.
I am looking forward to reading books I never would have tried to read
on my own.
Brenda
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