The Unhappiness of Being a Single Man

First an admission. I have never read anything by Kafka until now. There, I’ve said it.

My thanks to Steerforth Press for giving me a chance to remedy this with an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This is a collection of short stories, which is probably not what most people think of when they think of Kafka. They think of The Trial or The Castle and not of stories some of which last for just a single paragraph (there are others that are over 40 pages long and others at various points between these).

Like, I suppose, many people who have not read Kafka, my reference point is the word “Kafkaesque”. And it is normally followed by the word “nightmare”. His translator here, Alexander Starritt, makes exactly this point at the start of his preface.

Starritt’s preface also argues that it is in his short stories that Kafka excels.

“…about the short stories. There, the ideas that can feel interminable in the novels are quick, funny, strange and sad. Some are fables, some are jokes, some seem placid at first then throw you out the window, some put pictures in your mind that no one but Kafka ever could and that will keep resurfacing for years afterwards as metaphors for your lived reality.”

Clearly, I am not in a position to have a view on the comparison with his novels, but the stuff about the impact of the short stories seems accurate.

This is a stunning collection. Normally, when you read a book of short stories, some stay with you and some fade away. Not here. Every story paints a kind of surreal, yes, Kafkaesque, vision that hangs around to haunt the reader. It doesn’t matter whether it takes you 20 seconds or 30 minutes to read a story, it digs deep into your psyche and settles in. I’m not sure reading this just before bed time is a good idea as it leads to some “interesting” dreams.

I’d like to tell you which story is my favourite, but there’s an unnerving sense as you read each one that it is actually holding up a mirror to your soul and revealing something about what makes you you. To acknowledge that I relate to one more than another might, I worry, reveal more about me than I care to make public!

What about the opening story in which a man sets off to deliver to YOU a message from the Emperor, but he cannot fight his way through the crowd round the emperor and leaves you dreaming of what the message might say? Or the Hunger Artists who make a show of fasting in public until it goes out of fashion? Or the trees in the snow that look frail but aren’t, or are they?

What an amazing way to start my Franz Kafka journey!

I love Kafka and I love his work. These new translations are great because they really capture that "Kafkaesque" feel about his work. Perfect for people who've never read any Kafka and for long-time fans.

An essential read for all fans of Kafka. I consider myself an adherent of his incredible prose, memorable story building, and the simplicity of his plotting, and yet there are several stories in this collection that were new to me.
I could not recommend it more.

Thank you Net Galley. Wonderful. A well translated, excellent collection. I enjoyed it very much and recommend it very strongly.

Having read all Kafka's longer, better-known works, I was excited to have the opportunity to sample some of his short stories. This is an eclectic collection that ranges from stories spanning several pages to brief vignettes lasting only a few sentences. I found them all wonderful, though some of my favourites included 'In the Penal Colony', 'The Stoker', 'The Unhappiness of Being a Single Man', and 'The Verdict'. If you are a fan of Kafka's writing, you're certain to find something to enjoy in this collection. If you are new to Kafka, this volume would provide an excellent introduction to his style before you pick up one of the novels. All in all, a delightful read.

Metamorphosis has long been one of my favorite classics, so I was excited to get at a collection of Kafka's short stories, to read the week prior to traveling to his birthplace, Prague. I love this title, I love this book cover, and I love the portrait of Kafka posing with a dog. I super appreciate Alexander Starritt acknowledging four different translators at the end of this gem, a great translation can augment genius; and these stories written over a century ago, are so comical today and read so fluidly. My only complaint is that I found the tone of Starritt's Preface overtly, and unnecessarily, negative. In fact my recommendation would be to skip the first four paragraphs of his Preface, and just enjoy the rest of the book.

An informal, overly chatty-seeming introduction actually proves ideal for this vital book of Kafka short stories. Vital, because I've turned to his pages off and on for the last thirty years as a layman fan, and still found new pieces here. Poseidon no less gets hung up on paperwork – but not all of this is the typical Kafkaesque nightmare the introduction bewails. Of the more famous pieces here, they're pretty much present and correct, and of the lesser anthologised works it has to be admitted that some are one-paragraph vignettes, but not all are. You can use these pages to help you believe the tragedy of a man who travels by train – in the overhead luggage racks; the scientific report spoken by an ex-monkey; and more – perhaps not the horse used as lawyer, mind.

Best, for me at least, was 'The Stoker' – a story I'd not seen before, and a wonderful, wonderful experience of Kafka taking himself far from his usual shores. A young lad almost gets turned into a lawyer as well, when the ship taking him to the New World arrives at New York. Ridiculous circumstance and creepy feel of grooming aside, there's a poise to the piece – and copious unanswered questions, as only befitting a Kafka story – that really works. This would have been worth the price of admission without that. I'm one of the converted and didn't have to be plied with short and sweet glories to be a fan of Kafka, but I agree with this compiler and translator, in that the esoteric little gems are the way to get under his skin and find the most pleasure. Four and a half stars.

This was my first Kafka read and what a wonderful collection. I now understand the importance of this writer and why his works are classics. I look forward to buying a copy and having it adorn my shelves.

If there's any reason why you ought to read this book, let it be that each story will cling onto you like a shadow, constantly whispering into your ear 'did you get that?'
A great collection, well translated and fans and new readers of Kafka will love this. Thanks Netgalley for the eARC.

My exposure to renowned writer Kafka has been mainly though his most famous work "Metamorphosis." Translator Alexander Starritt, in the preface, makes a strong case for Kafka's short stories showcasing his unique surrealistic style to optimum light vs his novels. Published through Pushkin Press, Starritt says he hasn't arranged them by chronological or thematic order, they are an artistic splay of Kafka's breadth of imagination.

The stories that I found the most striking were 'The Verdict and 'In the Penal Colony.' Some were somewhat mystifying to me, such as 'The New Lawyer.' The really short ones, no more than a few lines or a paragraph, were too brief for me to really sink my teeth into. Some were whimsical (like Poseidon being bogged down by paperwork) , some were reflective and poetic (like 'The Bridge'), some were fantastical, sometimes they possessed all these qualities together. Kafka displays a deft hand in delving into human emotion; those dark hidden bits, those tender vulnerable spots set in a familiar but somewhat offbeat setting. Before you know it, the situation has uncontrollably devolved into surreal horrific territory.

This short story collection is good exposure to a writer who excelled at his craft, highly recommended.

Thanks to Pushkin Press for the ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Well, that was an unusual experience.I suppose I have to say that it was Kafkaesque. These are strange little stories that make you ponder - what are they about? what are they trying to say? who are they speaking to?

Somewhat off the wall, disturbing, and with a sense of menace, these stories are nevertheless entertaining and sometimes funny. I've not read any other versions so can't compare but I felt the translations to be in keeping with the content.

It's a good few years since I read any Kafka and these were a welcome reintroduction.

This is a great collection of Kafta's works that introduces the reader to the author's short stories. Most readers probably only know of The Metamorphosis or The Trial, but Kafka has a lot to offer in stories of various lengths, some of which are only a paragraph in length, such as The Truth About Sancho Panza. Fans of magical Realism and stories with a surreal edge will love these.

Wonderful translation; I've read several, and this is one of the best. Recommended, even if you already have one of the older translations.

There are 22 stories in a collection that spans under 200 pages so most of the stories are just a few pages. For an author most well-known for his novels, the most famous being The Metamorphosis, the translator's preface proposes that the short stories are probably not as famed because novels sell better but that Kafka's best writing was in the form of his short stories. Not having read any of his novels before, I can't say I can make the comparison myself but I was thoroughly impressed by some of the writing included here. Below are the notes I wrote on the first 5 stories in the collection:
A Message from the Emperor begins with a great opening line aimed toward the reader, immediately inviting the reader to become the main character of the story. "The emperor -they say- has sent you, you alone, his lowly subject, you tiny shadow thrown far off into the furthest corner by the imperial sun, you, of all people, the Emperor has sent a message from his deathbed." I think that is so intriguing, a great opening that immediately makes me want to recoil from being the plebeian lowly at whom such scorn is being directed, but also curious about what the message could contain. Am I secretly the empress I have always considered myself to be? However, the story, if it is indeed that, ends as enigmatically as it begins because within a few short paragraph, it is over, leaving in its wake, more questions than I had before he began, the messenger, carrying that tale trapped in time and space. This is writing to be admired, descriptions that alternate between time and space, meandering through luxurious ease and frantic pace and every change evoked a different emotion and brought a different kind of energy.
A Short Fable was an even smaller offering in that the whole story occurs in 89 words. Yes, I counted them, however I think the author's skill is in how much he included in those 89 words so not a character was wasted as he described a cat-and-mouse game, the prey's questions of self discovery and with other things, forgetting for too long what his real problem is.
The Unhappiness of Being a Single Man was another example of flash-fiction; this time the author used just 176 words to explore the reality of bachelorhood, immediately stereotyping his hypothetical character as not just unmarried but alone, lonely, friendless, childless, eternally poor and eking out a cold existence in a rented room. It contrasts with the idea of the bachelor playboy, single by choice, a roster of model companions at his beck and call. Instead, Kafka focuses on the lack of complexity and compares it to a thick fog from which said single character will eventually emerge to recognize himself with regret and these sparse but pregnant words, immediately challenge the reader, whatever their position in the relationship spectrum, to reassess before it is too late to change.
Poseidon posits an alternate view of the man behind the myth. What do we know about the sea god? Can we imagine him isolated by his power? Is that visual enough to conjure sympathy or do we prefer to reinforce the idiom we already believe that, "It is (and supposed to be) lonely at the top"?
The Verdict is one of the longest stories and in it, Kafka posits three characters, one a young single businessman named Georg who has been unsuccessful enough in his work to have moved back home to live with his father after his mother's death; his nameless friend, also a struggling entrepreneur, who has returned to his native Russia and found the landscape sufficiently changed and the culture so different that although he should be at home, he is isolated; and finally Georg's widowed father. Indeed, all the characters are identical, although Georg thinks himself superior, his situation better, and the inclusion of Georg's musings as he reflects on his friend and his father, reveal that his criticisms would be better aimed at himself. Kafka's sardonic attitude gleams in this story, and the conglomeration of roles in a single identity gives the reader the opportunity to perhaps recognize the author's hypothesis that Georg, and all his alternate personalities, may just be the reader himself.
Overall, the stories spanned a wide range of themes and issues, mocking, advising, rendering hope and fatality so it was quite an emotional-jerker. It took me less than two hours to read the entire book but it is one that I think I would like to revisit. I enjoyed the title which seems to draw conclusions about the life of the singleton, and then the rest of the text which offers many, more complex versions of reality, lonesomeness, solitude, and the threats that companionship poses.
I read a free electronic copy of this book courtesy of Netgalley and the publishers, Pushkin Press, but this did not influence my opinions. This is a book I genuinely enjoyed would like to own for my shelves. I feel confident recommending it to fans of other comlex short story collections like:

'The longer you hesitate outside the door, the more of a stranger you become.'

I don’t know that I would agree these are the best, most essential stories by Kafka but I wasn’t disappointed. This line in Homecoming jumped out at me, it’s such a short ‘nothing’ but poignant with something, “The longer you hesitate outside the door, the more of a stranger you become.” A young man returns home, unwelcome, “I’ve come back”, to his father’s farm, a house with bricks that lie cold against each other as if ‘occupied with it’s own affairs’. It gave me the feeling of being a living ghost, unwanted, a stranger now all the same, and aren’t we all ghosts in a sense when we first return to our old haunts, homes? To family who wants to see nothing but the back of us?

A Report for an Academy is about assimilating as a means of survival and escape from captivity. There are several different suggestions of what the story is about and what Kafka’s inspiration was, it’s worth looking up. Kafka is always saying far more than what is at surface a story about an ape mimicking the human world, conforming to rise above the caged existence, captivity. In a sense he is thumbing his nose at humanity, isn’t he?

The Silence of the Sirens is Kafka’s version of Ulysses. Here Odysseus finds the Sirens silence is as dangerous as their singing. A weapon far more deadly, so much for wax stuffed ears. The saddest story for me in the collection is The Verdict, it begins with businessman Georg composing a letter to his friend who left for Russia and is now stagnating, should he tell his friend of his engagement? His mother is dead, he’s moved in with his father, putting all his hard work in the family business, one wonders ‘did mother keep the peace once?’ Is this meant to be a silly piece, or a disturbing tale between a young son unable to escape his father’s shadow and a weak old man unable to accept his time has passed, jealous of his son’s future, youth? It’s so bizarre, why does George’s father question if his Russian friend isn’t an invention of his own mind, a lie? Why is he so disappointed by his son? Why does Georg obey his father’s verdict as if he is helpless against the tyranny of the old man, as if a child cowering under thunderous anger? Georg’s father emasculates him as only a cruel parent can. Autobiographical. It is well-known Kafka’s father was abusive, that Kafka wrote a letter to his father, that was actually a published book that changes the way you read The Verdict. You want to understand Kafka a bit more, read Letter To His Father by Franz published in 1952. Now I’ve gone and made myself sad! Kafka’s writing always fascinates me because of the many interpretations, so much left to the imagination, all the things left unsaid that the reader is meant to figure out. Is it real or horror or fantasy? It is never what it seems and exactly what it seems.

Paperback available now

Kindle Edition publication: March 5, 2019

Pushkin Press

Kafka’s The Unhappiness of Being a Single Man includes a stellar introduction from translator Alexander Starritt. I have respect for intros from translators; after all they are the ones who slaved over the words, mulling over one choice over another, so if anyone ‘deserves’ to write an intro, it’s the translator IMO. Starritt’s intro is lively, fluid, and well … interesting:

In English, the word that usually follows ‘Kafkaesque’ is ‘nightmare’. Hardly the thing to make you think, ‘Hurray, a new translation. No Netflix for me tonight.’ And in truth, Kafka’s work is more respected than it is loved.

These first sentences hit a chord with me. I have lost count of the number of times The Metamorphosis popped up again and again in literature class after literature class. Yes the story (while I liked it) became a ‘No-Exit’-Not-Again nightmare in itself.

Unhappiness

Starritt argues that these short stories present an entirely different view of Kafka, and I agree. These stories are mercurial, some are absurdist, and the closest thing I could compare to is absurdist Russian fiction. These stories (and some are extremely short) are not at all what I expected from Kafka. Some stories are flash fiction–if we could imagine such a term applying to Kafka. Other stories are longer, and of course, as is with all collections, some stories are stronger than others.

The title story: The Unhappiness of Being a Single Man is a good idea of what to expect here. I read it on my kindle and it’s just over a page long. This is a single man who rues the things he’s missing:

It seems a terrible thing to stay single for good, to become an old man who, if he wants to spend the evening with other people, has to stand on his dignity and ask someone for an invitation

The last lines were unexpected and made me chuckle. Again–not at all what I expected from Kafka.

In The Married Couple, a sales rep takes his sample case to a man known as N. The sales rep and N used to work together, but now N, a much older man is bed-bound and possibly close to death. Yes, perhaps this sounds like the sort of thing we’d expect from Kafka, but the final delivery is not.

A First Heartache is a short tale of a trapeze artist who in the quest to perfect his art becomes increasingly isolated. The abnormal becomes normal and he clings to his life on the highwire. He:

had arranged his life in such a way that, initially out of a striving for perfection, then out of increasingly tyrannical habit, he stayed on his trapeze day and night for as long as an engagement lasted. His modest needs were catered to by a rota of attendants who were posted below and hauled everything up and down in specially made containers.

The trapeze artist is “in constant training, of keeping his art at its peak.” This becomes a way of life, this increasing isolation, and the only thing that disrupts this routine are the unavoidable transfers from venue to venue, which badly disrupted his peace of mind.”

Another top pick has to be In the Penal Colony, a story of a researcher who travels to a penal colony only to be invited to attend the execution of a soldier “who’d been sentenced to death for disobeying and insulting a superior officer.” The story centres on the machine that will do the deed. It’s a diabolical contraption designed by the former (deceased) commandant. The machine is sadistically designed to inflict maximum pain and suffering over a twelve hour period before the final coup de grâce.

While the officer explains the machine’s processes of torture “with great zeal,” the condemned man, who has no idea of the fate that awaits him is at first disinterested (the officer and the researcher speak in French) but then he becomes increasingly curious as the machine’s mechanisms are explained:

The condemned man looked as submissive as a dog, as if they could have let him wander around the slopes on his own, and would only have needed to whistle for him when they wanted to start the execution.

The officer’s matter-of-fact approach to explaining the machine is, of course, bizarre and yet entirely believable. This method of execution has become an institution in the penal colony, but now it has fallen out of favour. The condemned soldier has not been given a trial and is unaware that he has even been sentenced to death. According to the officer, “it would be pointless to tell him.” Torture and death as spectacle: what is there about these things that appeal to people? The matter-of-fact bureaucratic manner in which the sadistic death is explained moves the execution away from the idea of suffering and into efficiency. Couldn’t help but think of the Nazis.

This collection rolls in at just under 200 pages. I think the stories are best read one at a time, rather than in chunks.

Review copy

Translated by Alexander Starritt

I'm a huge Kafka fan but sometimes his novels are bit too long to be staying in his world and so his short stories are among his best. This collection contains Kafka at his best. His sense of humor shines as he takes you in and out of various worlds with his trademark structure. The collection does contain some more underwhelming stories but overall is an excellent introduction to Kafka which anyone who has ever called something Kafkaesque should read.

Collection did not put a foot wrong here. Lovely book with a number of stories so short that they would have been out of place anywhere else, but still have the trademark Kafkaesque punch with ingrains itself in the memory. A short story collection to revisit again and again.

With kind thanks to the Pushkin and Netgalley for the ARC.

A great collection of Kafka short stories. It gave me a new perspective on this author's storytelling, and I was especially happy to be able to read "Homecoming" and "Give up!", because these two were not yet translated in Japanese although he is one of the most beloved writers and many Japanese writers including Haruki Murakami and Yoko Ogawa referred to him as the inspiration for their own works.

I've been a huge fan of Kafka's work since grad school. This collection of short stories has some truly great pieces. Two stories stand out from the bunch: "The Hunger Artist" and "The Penal Colony" - both stories have dark, twisted themes that are told with such impeccable descriptions and timing. Although a few of the stories were a tad boring, I'm so glad I read the collection because of these two standouts. I'd recommend this to anyone who loves Kafka's work or who enjoys short stories they can sink their teeth into. Such a tragedy that he died so young - I can only imagine what other genius stories he could have come up with if he had been given more time.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.