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A review by savaging
The Great Wall of China and other Stories by Franz Kafka
5.0
"You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait. Do not even wait, be quite still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet." -Reflections on Sin, Pain, Hope, and the True Way
I am completely charmed by Kafka's short stories and aphorisms. "The Great Wall of China" is the fictional equivalent of the anthropology of James C. Scott and David Graeber, about societies slippery to control, egalitarian in the teeth of hierarchical empire. And good lord, that singing dog.
Some reviewers have been miss-listing the short stories in this volume. It doesn't contain a lot of his most well-known short stories, like "In the Penal Colony" or "The Hunger Artist," or the one about the ape's report. These are much lesser known. Begin with the book IN THE PENAL COLONY, and only venture here if you've already fallen in love with Kafka.
I am completely charmed by Kafka's short stories and aphorisms. "The Great Wall of China" is the fictional equivalent of the anthropology of James C. Scott and David Graeber, about societies slippery to control, egalitarian in the teeth of hierarchical empire. And good lord, that singing dog.
Some reviewers have been miss-listing the short stories in this volume. It doesn't contain a lot of his most well-known short stories, like "In the Penal Colony" or "The Hunger Artist," or the one about the ape's report. These are much lesser known. Begin with the book IN THE PENAL COLONY, and only venture here if you've already fallen in love with Kafka.