Scan barcode
wohnjick's reviews
76 reviews
The Castle by Franz Kafka
2.0
The Castle - Franz Kafka: 3/10
What wasted potential. The concept of The Castle is intriguing and opens the doors for a lot of fascinating themes and social commentary, but instead Kafka decides to spend his time writing pages upon pages about some weird romance plot and conversations which ultimately have little bearing on the story. It is important to not treat that last point lightly: Kafka continually writes whole chapters that consist of information almost entirely superfluous. Imagine if in The Metamorphosis as he describes the father throwing apples, Kafka decides to spend 15 pages describing how this apple was chosen, what the daily work of an apple-picker looks like, and the detailed ins-and-outs of the supply chain that led to this particular apple ending up lodged in Gregor. The last third of this book in particular is just such a slog for this very reason; K finally manages to have a meeting with an official from the castle but it ends up being a nothing burger because he's too tired from the conversation he just had (which was a seemingly never-ending stream of pages of a random character never seen before discussing the purpose and benefits of castle secretaries having meetings at night as K himself fights exhaustion much like the reader). This ushers the last couple chapters which consist of a random side character lore dumping about the romance plot and their own (unimportant) life situation for what feels like forever, and culminates with K discussing dresses and then getting called over to another side character's side quest. The best part? There is no conclusion. The work was published posthumously and unfinished, so not only are there continuity errors as well as clear examples of Kafka still figuring out where the story is ultimately concluding, but we will also never know how the story ends. A very disappointing novel.
What wasted potential. The concept of The Castle is intriguing and opens the doors for a lot of fascinating themes and social commentary, but instead Kafka decides to spend his time writing pages upon pages about some weird romance plot and conversations which ultimately have little bearing on the story. It is important to not treat that last point lightly: Kafka continually writes whole chapters that consist of information almost entirely superfluous. Imagine if in The Metamorphosis as he describes the father throwing apples, Kafka decides to spend 15 pages describing how this apple was chosen, what the daily work of an apple-picker looks like, and the detailed ins-and-outs of the supply chain that led to this particular apple ending up lodged in Gregor. The last third of this book in particular is just such a slog for this very reason; K finally manages to have a meeting with an official from the castle but it ends up being a nothing burger because he's too tired from the conversation he just had (which was a seemingly never-ending stream of pages of a random character never seen before discussing the purpose and benefits of castle secretaries having meetings at night as K himself fights exhaustion much like the reader). This ushers the last couple chapters which consist of a random side character lore dumping about the romance plot and their own (unimportant) life situation for what feels like forever, and culminates with K discussing dresses and then getting called over to another side character's side quest. The best part? There is no conclusion. The work was published posthumously and unfinished, so not only are there continuity errors as well as clear examples of Kafka still figuring out where the story is ultimately concluding, but we will also never know how the story ends. A very disappointing novel.
The Trial by Franz Kafka
4.0
When compared to The Castle, this is significantly better. The tendency for superfluousness that plagued The Castle still shows up here, with numerous incidents and characters being described that really didn't need to be, but the story overall is significantly tighter and the themes are better explored (and concluded). That being said, this novel is almost *entirely* held up by its themes and it's message moreso than anything else. Outside of K, characters only really exist to be obstacles or instruments K is to handle and lack any real depth. As with other Kafka works I've read, the writing quality isn't exceptional but isn't bad by any means either. Overall a bit disappointing given it's reputation, but ultimately a solid novel.
The Complete Stories by Franz Kafka
3.0
There were some notable standouts (In The Penal Colony, A Hunger Artist, The Refusal, Report to an Academy, etc (my edition didn't have The Metamorphosis, which was instead a standalone book, but that is a fantastic work sometimes included in these bundles)) that make it worth a read, but a lot of what's in here is very fragmented, underwhelming, or just straight up incomprehensible.
Blindness by José Saramago
5.0
Easily one of the best novels I've ever read and one of the few I've had to force myself to put down when needed. The narrative and flow of the story is incredible and the characters are extremely well written with their journeys and growth feeling completely natural. Saramago's post-blindness world in many ways reminds me of Cormac McCarthy's *The Road* and (like *The Road*) it's one of the few stories set in a deteriorating society that actually seems somewhat realistic in my opinion. Saramago's style is perhaps the only minor complaint I have with the novel (quotation marks wouldn't have hurt), yet despite this I actually found myself getting through this book pretty quickly when I had time. Overall a fantastic read.
Seeing by José Saramago
5.0
Don't have much to say about this other than the fact that I liked it. It's political satire was pretty funny and the ending is extremely unexpected in a good way. That all being said, it lacks that certain je ne sais quoi that Blindeness had, and the last stretch of the book started to lose my attention a little bit (though the conclusion brought me back)
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
5.0
Probably the most interesting book I've read from a formalistic perspective and certainly a tour de force in terms of using a medium to convey a message. The story itself is purposely complex, being a story about a story about a documentary, all of which are never really confirmed to be fully "true" in universe. I have no major complaints about the Navidson plot upon which everything else lies aside from wanting more of it. Zampanó is a clear satire of modern academia, and Johnny's ramblings and slow descent into mental illness obviously act as a more "real" foil to the Navidson story, and the way the book layers these stories is masterful and impressively conveys the themes of the corresponding passages/chapters alongside the larger theme of the book. That being said, boy were some sections hard to get through. I didn't mind it with Zampanó as much as I did with Johnny, but there are parts of the book where Danielewski's formalistic storytelling proves a bit boring to actually read. I largely found Zampanó's faux intellectualism humorous, but there were times where sections that fit thematically were just boring to read, and Johnny's long ramblings about sex fantasies got old fast (though luckily got more interesting towards the end). Even with that said, I'd still prefer the book as it is now as opposed to removing those parts because they do fit the purpose of the book well and are intentionally laborious. The mystery of the story as a whole is also engrossing. You're never really sure who (if anyone) is telling the truth, and there's so many moments that hint to a much deeper story behind the scenes. Or maybe not. Either way the use of color, ergodicism, and formalism make for an avant garde book that is most certainly not for everyone, but one which I found quite enjoyable.