Kafkaesque

Harry the K said:
Maybe his friends had the same weird sense of humor, not completely understandable.
Last week I reread "The Castle" after 45 years and was disappointed. Amazing how my perception has changed over the decades.
Worst of all Kafka´s language: No poetic quality whatsoever, no flow, but instead the clumsy and overly complicated diction of a clerk working for an insurance company.
The story is boring and tough as old boots.
Murakami comes to mind as a modern writer kafkaesque who is so much more enjoyable to read.
Kafka wanted his manuscripts to be destroyed after his death...
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Wallace Stevens spent most of his life working in a bland and obscure position in an insurance company. Nothing clumsy or overly complicated in his writing! I just want to put in a good word for all the brilliant and talented people of this world who, by choice or necessity, toil away in unglamorous jobs in order to either survive, or just be left alone to do their creative work.
 
Retro-Grouch said:
Wallace Stevens spent most of his life working in a bland and obscure position in an insurance company. Nothing clumsy or overly complicated in his writing! I just want to put in a good word for all the brilliant and talented people of this world who, by choice or necessity, toil away in unglamorous jobs in order to either survive, or just be left alone to do their creative work.
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T. S. Elliot
 
Retro-Grouch said:
I just want to put in a good word for all the brilliant and talented people of this world who, by choice or necessity, toil away in unglamorous jobs in order to either survive, or just be left alone to do their creative work.
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No contradiction here. I did not talk about socioeconomics but about linguistics, the language of Kafka´s "The Castle". I´m sure he choose the diction, the code, of his writings deliberately, but he choose the slang he knew from his work, a slang I don´t like.
I mean, what do you prefer: Two hours at your dentist´s or discussing insurance specifics with your insurance agent? Neither, right?
 
Harry the K said:
No contradiction here. I did not talk about socioeconomics but about linguistics, the language of Kafka´s "The Castle". I´m sure he choose the diction, the code, of his writings deliberately, but he choose the slang he knew from his work, a slang I don´t like.
I mean, what do you prefer: Two hours at your dentist´s or discussing insurance specifics with your insurance agent? Neither, right?
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If I had to make a choice, I'd go with the insurance agent. No physical pain involved. At the dentist's, I get my mouth propped open, big, mysterious and unpleasant things get shoved in, and then he asks me, "So how's your day going?" If that isn't Kafkaesque, what is?
 
At the most basic level, did you read Kafka in the original? There are gifted translators but are they always right? You have to read Kafka in German to say you understand him IMHO.
 
Yokosuka Mike said:
Damn! This is really good! This is the sort of image I want to create!

RG, thank you for sharing.

All the best,
Mike
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Many thanks, Mike! This shot is all about the light; here in NM, we have a phenomenon that locals call "The Glow". Some evenings, about 15 minutes after sunset, the light becomes very warm and directional, almost enough to cast a shadow. I've measured it with a light meter, and it is actually 1EV brighter than just after sunset. I don't know what sort of atmospherics are at work when this happens, but it is stunning when it occurs! This shot is a good example of how it renders in B&W. Just add a bunch of big old cottonwoods, and those wide open Western prairies.
 
Retro-Grouch said:
If I had to make a choice, I'd go with the insurance agent. No physical pain involved. At the dentist's, I get my mouth propped open, big, mysterious and unpleasant things get shoved in, and then he asks me, "So how's your day going?" If that isn't Kafkaesque, what is?
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I don´t know. With the insurance agent, you get your mind propped open, expensive, mysterious and unpleasant things get shoved in,.....
After the dentist´s you´re better, usually, after the insurance agent you´re in most cases just poorer.
 
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