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The Unhappiness of Being a Single Man

Essential Stories

Part of Pushkin Press Classics

Author Franz Kafka
Translated by Alexander Starritt
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$16.95 US
| $22.95 CAN
Steerforth Press | Pushkin Press Classics
On sale Sep 12, 2023 | 192 Pages | 9781805330400
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The best stories by the one of the twentieth century's greatest and most influential writers

No one has captured the modern experience, its wild dreams, strange joys, its neuroses and boredom, better than Franz Kafka. His vision, with its absurdity and twisted humour, has lost none of its force or relevance today. This essential collection, translated and selected by Alexander Starritt, casts fresh light on Kafka's genius.

Alongside brutal depictions of violence and justice are jokes and deceptively slight, mysterious fables. These unforgettable pieces reflect the brilliance at the core of Franz Kafka, arguably most fully expressed within his short stories. Together they showcase a writer of unmatched imaginative depth, capable of expressing the most profound reality with a wry smile.
Praise for The Unhappiness of Being a Single Man:

'A welcome distillation of Kafka's short fiction, essential indeed.' - Kirkus Reviews

'The Unhappiness of Being a Single Man nicely makes a case that readers should not forget Kafka's sly sense of humor and, of course, his humanity, when considering his impact on culture.' - Noah Cruickshank, Forefront, in Shelf Awareness

Praise for the work of Franz Kafka:

'The stories are dreamlike, allegorical, symbolic, parabolic, grotesque, ritualistic, nasty, lucent, extremely personal, ghoulishly detached, exquisitely comic, numinous, and prophetic.' - The New York Times

'The greatest German writer of our time. Such poets as Rilke or such novelists as Thomas Mann are dwarfs or plastic saints in comparison with him.' - Vladimir Nabokov

'A genius.' - The Guardian

'[Kafka] spoke for millions in their new unease; a century after his birth, he seems the last holy writer, and the supreme fabulist of modern man's cosmic predicament.' - John Updike
Franz Kafka (1883-1924) was born to Jewish parents in Prague, and wrote in German. Most of his work was published posthumously, but he is now considered one of the most influential authors of the twentieth century.

Alexander Starritt is the author of the novels We Germans and The Beast. His translations of The Unhappiness of Being a Single Man by Franz Kafka and Late Fame by Arthur Schnitzler are also published by Pushkin Press.
Franz Kafka View titles by Franz Kafka
Translator’s Preface
A Message from the Emperor
A Short Fable
The Unhappiness of Being a Single Man
Poseidon
The Verdict
The Truth About Sancho Panza
The Bridge
The Married Couple
Before the Law
A Hunger Artist
The Trees
The New Lawyer
An Old Journal
In the Penal Colony
The Next Village
A First Heartache
A Report for an Academy
Homecoming
Jackals and Arabs
The Silence of the Sirens
The Stoker
Give up!

About

The best stories by the one of the twentieth century's greatest and most influential writers

No one has captured the modern experience, its wild dreams, strange joys, its neuroses and boredom, better than Franz Kafka. His vision, with its absurdity and twisted humour, has lost none of its force or relevance today. This essential collection, translated and selected by Alexander Starritt, casts fresh light on Kafka's genius.

Alongside brutal depictions of violence and justice are jokes and deceptively slight, mysterious fables. These unforgettable pieces reflect the brilliance at the core of Franz Kafka, arguably most fully expressed within his short stories. Together they showcase a writer of unmatched imaginative depth, capable of expressing the most profound reality with a wry smile.

Reviews

Praise for The Unhappiness of Being a Single Man:

'A welcome distillation of Kafka's short fiction, essential indeed.' - Kirkus Reviews

'The Unhappiness of Being a Single Man nicely makes a case that readers should not forget Kafka's sly sense of humor and, of course, his humanity, when considering his impact on culture.' - Noah Cruickshank, Forefront, in Shelf Awareness

Praise for the work of Franz Kafka:

'The stories are dreamlike, allegorical, symbolic, parabolic, grotesque, ritualistic, nasty, lucent, extremely personal, ghoulishly detached, exquisitely comic, numinous, and prophetic.' - The New York Times

'The greatest German writer of our time. Such poets as Rilke or such novelists as Thomas Mann are dwarfs or plastic saints in comparison with him.' - Vladimir Nabokov

'A genius.' - The Guardian

'[Kafka] spoke for millions in their new unease; a century after his birth, he seems the last holy writer, and the supreme fabulist of modern man's cosmic predicament.' - John Updike

Author

Franz Kafka (1883-1924) was born to Jewish parents in Prague, and wrote in German. Most of his work was published posthumously, but he is now considered one of the most influential authors of the twentieth century.

Alexander Starritt is the author of the novels We Germans and The Beast. His translations of The Unhappiness of Being a Single Man by Franz Kafka and Late Fame by Arthur Schnitzler are also published by Pushkin Press.
Franz Kafka View titles by Franz Kafka

Table of Contents

Translator’s Preface
A Message from the Emperor
A Short Fable
The Unhappiness of Being a Single Man
Poseidon
The Verdict
The Truth About Sancho Panza
The Bridge
The Married Couple
Before the Law
A Hunger Artist
The Trees
The New Lawyer
An Old Journal
In the Penal Colony
The Next Village
A First Heartache
A Report for an Academy
Homecoming
Jackals and Arabs
The Silence of the Sirens
The Stoker
Give up!

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