Franz Kafka
Czech-German novelist and short story writer whose profoundly influential works explore themes of alienation, existential dread, and bureaucratic oppression. His name gave rise to the adjective 'Kafkaesque' to describe nightmarish modern predicaments.
Works
- The TrialNovella of a man arrested and prosecuted for an unspecified crime he did not commit
- The CastleNovel of a man's futile struggle to reach a mysterious castle and meet its elusive authority
- The MetamorphosisNovella of a man who awakens transformed into a giant insect and his family's response
- In the Penal ColonyStory depicting an explorer witnessing the brutal execution method of a penal colony
- AmerikaUnfinished novel following a man's arrival and adventures in early American frontier