Currently unavailable.
We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock.

Follow the author

J. M. Hawes

+ Follow

More books from this author

Why You Should Read Kafka Before You Waste Your Life Hardcover – July 8, 2008

by James Hawes (Author)

3.3 16 ratings

See all formats and editions

Everybody knows the face of Franz Kafka, whether they have read any of his works or not. And that brooding face carries instant bleak and threatening visions of an inescapable bureaucracy, nightmarish transformations, uncanny predictions of the Holocaust. But while Kafka’s genius is beyond question, the image of a mysterious, sickly, shadowy figure who was scarcely known in his own lifetime bears no resemblance to the historical reality. Franz Kafka was a popular and well-connected millionaire’s son who enjoyed good-time girls, brothels, and expensive porn, who landed a highly desirable state job that pulled in at least $90,000 a year in today’s dollars for a six-hour day, who remained a loyal member of Prague’s German-speaking Imperial elite right to the end, and whose work was backed by a powerful literary clique.

Here are some of the prevalent Kafka

*Kafka was the archetypal genius neglected in his lifetime.

*Kafka was lonely.

*Kafka was stuck in a dead-end job, struggling to find time to write.

*Kafka was tormented by fear of sex.

*Kafka was unbendingly honest about himself to the women in his life – too honest.

*Kafka had a terrible, domineering father who had no understanding of his son’s needs.

*Kafka’s style is mysterious and opaque.

*Kafka takes us into bizarre worlds.

James Hawes wants to tear down the critical walls which generations of gatekeepers---scholars, biographers, and tourist guides---have built up around Franz Kafka, giving us back the real man and the real significance of his splendid works. And he'll take no prisoners in the process.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Press (July 8, 2008)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1615545808
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1615545803

Customer Reviews:
3.3 16 ratings

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

J. M. Hawes

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

3.3 out of 5

16 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

GFR

This is what happens when you try to mix your hobby with your work...

Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2012

Verified Purchase

Hawes wrote: "White Merc with Fins", "My little Armalite" and several other books that appeal to the general public. I guess he is also a serious German scholar in his other life.

If you were expecting something like: "Rancid aluminum" you will be disappointed. If you were expecting a treatise on Kafka.. you will also be disappointed.

So what if Kafka looked at porn? Who cares?

On the other hand this book was sufficiently interesting to make me read something by Kafka - the story where the guy turns into a bug..

In my opinion Hawes' Kafka book is better than Kafkas' Bug book.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Sergio

Drop the middle

Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2016

Verified Purchase

You can get what the title promises by just reading the Intro & Ch1, the ChVII & the Conclusion. The rest, though valuable and well written, seems to mainly describe why you shouldn't read Kafka (at least, not in English and not if you know anything about Kafka to begin with).

But, thus is a good overview of the man, the myth, and the times, an valuable before you start in on K's works.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Pavel Somov, Ph.D., author of "Lotus Effect," "Present Perfect," & "Eating the Moment"

Read After You Read Kafka

Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2009

The book is a Kafka-killer if read before you read Kafka and a Kafka-extender if read after you read Kafka. The author flips the beetle of Kafka industry on its back for an original and captivating de-metamorphosing of the K.-myth. While the title ("Why You Should Read Kafka Before You Waste Your Life") promises existential lessons, the book, as noted by another reviewer here, is an alternate biography or, rather, a supplement/addendum to the official biographies. The tone (slightly sensationalizing, with the risk of metamorphosing one K.myth into another) and the message (of normalizing the man behind the official K. myth) seem to be in a bit of a conflict - which adds to the complexity of the work itself. In reading the comments to these reviews, somebody remarked that the original title (author's title) for UK edition was "Excavating Kafka." If, indeed, so, then the author clearly excels at his scholarly mandate. In sum, my advice is two-fold: a) to stay away from the book until you've had your fill of Kafka since reading this particular about-Kafka thesis will likely bias new reader's impression of Kafka (with the idea from the Trial that "text alone" stands notwithstanding); b) if you found Kafka of interest, I definitely recommend this book as a must post-Kafka about-Kafka read). Either way, do not rush to throw away your Kafka t-shirt from Prague!

Pavel Somov, Ph.D., "Eating the Moment" [...]

11 people found this helpful

Helpful

Richard S. Blakeley

EH...

Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2016

Verified Purchase

OK... Did not finish it.

Reviewed in the United States on January 27, 2010

Verified Purchase

So much writing ABOUT Kafka! But this hits the bottom.
Only an English school wiseguy could suggest the view
from that perspective! Awful waste of time and money.
A potboiler. The nerve of the guy to ride the coattails
of genius.
Read Kafka instead!
Reading Kafka can be life-illuminating, joyful, fun
and full of surprises. Inspired creations, on a par with
Chaucer, Shakespeare, maybe Joyce, for the energy that
comes across.

5 people found this helpful

Helpful

John P. Holloway

Why not?

Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2008

Verified Purchase

Excellent examination of what made Kafka tick.. or roach...

recommend it highly.

jp

One person found this helpful

Helpful

JackDaniels7

Annoyingly over italicized and absently cited text

Reviewed in the United States on April 28, 2009

Every single page of "Why you Should Read Kafka Before you Waste your Life" has an italicized bit of text. Hawes uses italics for its conventional usage: to stress meaning, or call attention to an important area of information. However, he uses it on every single page, over and over again, making a read through extremely aggravating. It's as if the author had not yet developed a voice, so he overly used italics in his book to 'really show' people that he was a serious scholar with great ideas which needed to be pointed out, by him, on every friggin' page.

And then there's the lack of citations. Jesus christ, the lack of citations is appalling! I'm doing my thesis on Kafka, and I will be lucky if I could use this book even once due to the absence of a works cited page. I know some of the information in this book is accurate, but only because I have read it elsewhere (in books which used citations!!). If you are someone who has not read anything about Kafka before, DO NOT start here. Hawes is confusing, and if you ever wanted to double check a fact and consult his sources, you're out of luck.

On the brighter side, the book is funny, has nice pictures, and is unabashedly biased. Use it as a supplement to your Kafka reading, and not as a foundation.

11 people found this helpful

Helpful