Striving to understand the frequent usage of 'Kafkaesque' to describe a proliferation of things literary, I found a nice bargain copy of this translation of Kafka many moons past. I'm unsure if I accomplished my goal, being left wondering if I need to read 'The Trial' to solidify that understanding, yet having no desire to engage anymore with his works. This collection of stories left me repulsed ('The Metamorphosis'), disgusted ('In the Penal Colony'), irritated ('The Stoker'), or bored (all inclusive). I used the experience as a stylistic exercise, but even that failed to render the stories any more approachable for me. Taking a month to finally finish, the slow progress was a source of frustration, and the more frustrating thought is that Kafka would have probably found that entirely too funny. ( )

I'm glad I read Kafka's story "The Metamorphosis," about Gregor Samsa, because now I understand the joke in "The Producers" that references it so much better. Don't you just like pop cultural references in film and TV? Of course you do - look at how successful the Simpsons et al are. ( )

The man is nuts. This is not to say that I don't approve, but man-oh-man.....his conversations read as drunken insanity that is only barely functional, and that on a good day! ( )