Every now and then I read how something is described as being Kafkaesque.

I believe that Kafka was an author or something, but I'm not even sure of that.

Who is Kafka, and what did he do?

Hello Markabe.

"Kafkaesque means 'of, relating to, or suggestive of Franz Kafka or
his writings; especially : having a nightmarishly complex, bizarre, or
illogical quality.' Franz Kafka lived from 1883 to 1924. He was born
in Czech and his writings were in German. His work was characterized
by nightmarish settings in which 'characters were crushed by
nonsensical, blind authority.' This word's first recorded appearance
in English was in 1946."
Source: message by Ami Parekh; hosted by Spellingbee.com
http://www.spellingbee.com/cc03/Week04/eponyms.htm

"Franz Kafka wrote a large number of short stories about the impotence
of individuals swept up into governmental, legal or bureaucratic
madness. He also covered fear, paranoia and impotence in many forms,
as well as the outsider syndrome. As a result, Kafkaesque has come to
mean having a nightmarishly complex, bizarre, or illogical quality."
Source: BBC h2g2: Concepts from Fiction
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/classic/A613054

For more information about the author and his works, try these sites:

BBC Author Profile for Franz Kafka
http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/books/author/kafka/index.shtml

Franz Kafka (Czech publisher site)
http://www.franzkafka.cz/anglicky/frame/frame_zivot.htm

search strategy: "kafkaesque means", "franz kafka", czech

I hope this helps.

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Request for Answer Clarification by markabe-ga on 20 Feb 2003 00:04 PST

juggler,

Is it possible to get some examples of his work, just to get a better
idea of what his writings were about?

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Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 20 Feb 2003 00:53 PST

Hello Markabe,

The full-text of Kafka's "The Metamorphosis" is available from
ProfessorLuscher.com:
http://www.professorluscher.com/Literature/Other%20Short%20Stories/The%20Metamorphosis.htm

Seven of Kafka's stories are posted on the Franz Kafza Tribute web
page:
http://www.herzogbr.net/kafka/

Kafka's other works are, of course, available at your nearest library
or book shop.

You might also take a look at the 1963 film version of Kafka's "The
Trial." Here's a link to the DVD at HMV:
http://www.hmv.com.au/v4/product/dvd.asp?sku=807624

I hope this helps.

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Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 20 Feb 2003 00:54 PST

Typo: "...Franz Kafka Tribute web page..."

Thanks juggler, I can count on you to get the job done.

Just a minor correction

" He was born in Czech "  is not quite right.  Word 'czech' is an
adjective, just
 like german of french. The country now is officially called the Czech
Republic,
 and when you need a single word you can use informal 'Czechia' ,
patterned after Slovakia etc.
Of course, Kafka was born when Prague was part of the
Austria-Hungarian
Monarchy. Later he worked and died in Czechoslovakia...

Thanks, Hedgie.

I'm sure that this was just a typographical error on the part of Ami
Parekh. I doubt that Ms Parekh was trying to suggest that "Czech" was
the name of the country. Of course, the area is now known as the Czech
Republic. Typographical error and slight misstatements are an
unfortunate fact of life on the internet.

Kafkaesque is today's Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day:
http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/mwwodarch.pl?Feb.23

---------
Kafkaesque   \kahf-kuh-ESK\   (adjective)
     : of, relating to, or suggestive of Franz Kafka or his
writings; _especially_ : having a nightmarishly complex,
bizarre, or illogical quality

Example sentence:
     Roger's attempt to appeal the judgment against him met with
Kafkaesque bureaucratic delays.

Did you know?
     Franz Kafka (1883-1924) was a Czech-born German-language
writer whose surreal fiction vividly expressed the anxiety,
alienation, and powerlessness of the individual in the 20th
century. Kafka's work was characterized by nightmarish settings
in which characters were crushed by nonsensical, blind
authority. Thus, the word "Kafkaesque" is often applied to
bizarre and impersonal administrative situations where the
individual feels powerless to understand or control what is
happening. The first recorded appearance of "Kafkaesque" in
English was in 1946.
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