The Diaries of Franz Kafka: 1910-1913

by Franz Kafka, Max Brod (Editor), Joseph Kresh (Translator)

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing many of these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Genres: Nonfiction, Classics, Memoir, Diary, German Literature, Journal, Poetry

345 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1948

About the author

Prague-born writer Franz Kafka wrote in German, and his stories, such as " The Metamorphosis " (1916), and posthumously published novels, including The Trial (1925), concern troubled individuals in a nightmarishly impersonal world.

Jewish middle-class family of this major fiction writer of the 20th century spoke German. People consider his unique body of much incomplete writing, mainly published posthumously, among the most influential in European literature.

His stories include "The Metamorphosis" (1912) and " In the Penal Colony " (1914), whereas his posthumous novels include The Trial (1925), The Castle (1926) and Amerika (1927).

Despite first language, Kafka also spoke fluent Czech. Later, Kafka acquired some knowledge of the French language and culture from Flaubert, one of his favorite authors.

Kafka first studied chemistry at the Charles-Ferdinand University of Prague but after two weeks switched to law. This study offered a range of career possibilities, which pleased his father, and required a longer course of study that gave Kafka time to take classes in German studies and art history. At the university, he joined a student club, named Lese- und Redehalle der Deutschen Studenten, which organized literary events, readings, and other activities. In the end of his first year of studies, he met Max Brod, a close friend of his throughout his life, together with the journalist Felix Weltsch, who also studied law. Kafka obtained the degree of doctor of law on 18 June 1906 and performed an obligatory year of unpaid service as law clerk for the civil and criminal courts.

Writing of Kafka attracted little attention before his death. During his lifetime, he published only a few short stories and never finished any of his novels except the very short "The Metamorphosis." Kafka wrote to Max Brod, his friend and literary executor: "Dearest Max, my last request: Everything I leave behind me ... in the way of diaries, manuscripts, letters (my own and others'), sketches, and so on, [is] to be burned unread." Brod told Kafka that he intended not to honor these wishes, but Kafka, so knowing, nevertheless consequently gave these directions specifically to Brod, who, so reasoning, overrode these wishes. Brod in fact oversaw the publication of most of work of Kafka in his possession; these works quickly began to attract attention and high critical regard.

Max Brod encountered significant difficulty in compiling notebooks of Kafka into any chronological order as Kafka started writing in the middle of notebooks, from the last towards the first, et cetera.

Kafka wrote all his published works in German except several letters in Czech to Milena Jesenská.

Reviews

[Zain · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot like me, in the sense that his absolute self hatred makes him embarrassingly self obsessed.

[mare]

Davat zvjezdice nečijem dnevniku sa sobom nosi neki takav posthumanistički štih (štih as in gnjus), i odjednom The anthropocene reviewed ima toliko više smisla (everyone go read that book). Kafki stvarno je bilo urođeno bit književnikom u svakom aspektu njegovog bića, and that’s the thing I admire most about him. The longing for writing, the missing of it when he hasn’t the chance to indulge, the understanding that it cannot fulfill his societal needs, but still, he never lets it go.

[Christeen Shafeek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kafka's Diaries really amazing book which describes every detail of you life. Especially if you feel sad or sorrow. Kafka can found the best sentences to describe what he was feeling.
Only con for this book about the word which told by Max Brod - kafka's best friend - in my point of view, this word have to be in the beginning of the book not at last pages, because it's focused on the contain of the book in general and gave lots of information about some events which passed on the writer himself . So I think this word have to be as introduction not to be a final word..
Except this I found it very close to my heart and my mind, and I recommend it to read - if you know Kafka - but if you don't know anything about him yet. I'll recommend to you to read the metamorphosis first 🌹💖

[Edwin Betancourt Garzón · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hermosos y maravillosos diarios de uno de los escritores más ajizosos del siglo XX. Del observador más implacable; los cafés y salones que frecuenta; los borradores de relatos; su entrega total a la literatura (sin que dicha entrega no sea infructuosa, azarosa y flagelante: 1912, un año riquísimo en textos y confiesa, en sus páginas, una incapacidad para escribir: desde las dolencias físicas y espirituales, o su tedioso trabajo y ambiente familiar).

Franz, no soltaré mi diario, tampoco. Jamás. Mientras tanto, a seguir leyendo y escribiendo la imposibilidad.

[C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Es un libro que recomendaría si has leído más obra del autor y te interesa ver lo que hay detrás. Sobre todo por conocer el contexto y porque si no te interesa hay partes que pueden llegar a ser pesadas.
Aún así resulta una lectura entretenida y de alguna forma tierna.
Es fácil identificarse con él (al menos para mi) escribe sus experiencias con un cinismo muy actual, pero sin dejar de ser bastante lírico, con una melancolía constante.
Libro ideal si estás un poco hundido como él.

[Luiza · Rating 3 out of 5]

kafka musiał być bardzo nieznośny :)

[Weedleeedle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writing a review for a diary is weird and hard. Like what does it even mean for a diary to be *good*?

I guess really to answer that question, do I think Kafka's diaries are worth reading? I think the answer to that is "Absolutely."

I think fellow writers would benefit most from reading Kafka's diaries. It's a fascinating insight into the thoughts and experiences of a struggling writer. Even a writer as excellent as Kafka struggled with writer's block, impostor syndrome, self-deprecating his own work. Here's some of my favorite excerpts.

> the physical impossibility for writing and the inner need for it

> June 1. Wrote nothing.
> June 2. Wrote almost nothing.

> how sleepily and without effort I wrote this useless, unfinished thing

> day before yesterday was blamed because of the factory. Then for an hour on the sofa thought about jumping-out-of-the-window

There's a lot of stuff like this, stuff that feels all too relatable. Reading his diaries is actually really humorous. I also think the translator did an amazing job. I don't read German so I can't vouch for what Kafka's original voice was like, but there's a sort of rhythm and esoteric-ness to the way Kafka writes that actually reminds me of my own style, so I really enjoy reading it, but it may not be for everyone.

I think the most boring parts of Kafka's diaries are his narrations of real-life plays or dramas or other events that took place in his life. I think the medium just doesn't translate well to text, and it just doesn't really interest me.

So yeah, I definitely think it's worth the read. Kafka's diaries are a lot funnier and a lot more relatable than you might think. But I definitely wouldn't be afraid to skim or skip some of the sections that just aren't really interesting to read about.

[Anto · Rating 3 out of 5]

No se si está bien leer los diarios de alguien, pero lo leí al final. Capaz buscaba, busco, sentir que alguien ve las cosas de la misma manera, esas cosas que yo no puedo poner en palabras, más allá de escritos premeditados, editados y pensados para ser leídos; algo más crudo, destinado solo al aire. Aprendí un par de cosas con respecto a la persona que había en Franz Kafka, pero supongo que en realidad no puedo encontrar en papel algo que no se que busco. Tampoco fueron puramente reflexiones y desahogos, era mas una recapitulación de sus días, las cosas que le gustaban, las que no, las cosas que notaba de otras personas, del ambiente, sueños... fué lindo.

[Debra Daniels-Zeller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although this is yet another view of the intriguing Kafka, I had a bit of a slow go with these diaries while I really liked the later diaries. I found much of the writing in this volume about Jewish plays and analyzing writers I wasn't really familiar with. Three quarters of the way through this volume and I've decided to call it quits. I give it four stars because I like Kafka's insights, there just weren't enough here in this volume for me.

[Bruce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young Kafka comes across as an interesting fellow, if self-absorbed. His diaries are an interesting mix of travelogues, struggles of a young writer, and beginnings of stories. Volume 2 continues the diaries, which become more erratic and less coherent/interesting. Two trips from 1911 are for some reason moved to the end of Volume 2.

[J]

myślę, że jestem niezdolna do oceniania tej książki w skali 1-5, bo przecież są to prywatne dzienniki Franza Kafki. Tak czy inaczej jeśli ktoś interesuje się jego osobą, sięgnięcie po dzienniki Kafki to chyba najlepszy sposób na poznanie go. Nie jest to często lektura łatwa, ale buja mocno.

polecam cieplutko

[Ethan]

not going to give this (or the second volume) a rating as i don't believe it's fair to rate someone's private writings. that being said, getting to read and see some of kafka's personal thoughts, beliefs, and ideas definitely adds another layer to his fiction, and i would encourage anyone who is a fan of his stories and novels to read his diaries as well

[Anda Kruetani · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read a passage of Kafka's Diaries titled "The Sword", it really made me think of the past (sword) which is capable of harming us if we allow it too, but that only leaves a superficial mark is properly treated with the help of loved ones.

[Miguel · Rating 3 out of 5]

No lo voy a meter en mi lista de libros leídos porque he ido seleccionando lo que quería leer, sobre todo lo relativo a él mismo y su relación familiar/laboral. El resto no me ha interesado en exceso.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

So relatable

[نجیب شیخ]

Does anybody have the link to download this book online??

[Glosodom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Something of a relief

[natalia · Rating 3 out of 5]

i skipped parts about jewish theatre which im not really familiar with so my final rating might not be reliable. yet still, he just like me fr fr

[ayaannnd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read this for first year of uni and Franz Kafka is just like me fr (self-hating)

[gillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

read this at a very strange time in my life, served me well

[Juan Pablo López]

VOLUMEN 1 Y 2

Vol.1
Los diarios son toda una aventura de lectura, no se sabe a qué atenerse, y aún más sorprendente cuando se trata del diario de un escritor, donde la versatilidad verbal alcanza posibilidades creativas impensables.

Tenemos narraciones de los sucesos cotidianos de Kafka, entre madre, padre y hermanas, y sus amistades, del circulo teatrero de la ciudad y las amistades de escritores entre quienes leen sus creaciones (Kafka puede recordar cuántas veces se desconcentró escuchando una lectura en voz alta) y se hacen crítica constante.

Tenemos frases cortas, como cortadas, que posiblemente son la primera línea de un relato, o simplemente son el relato completo considerando la grandeza de las peculiaridades que K. logra captar. Algunas de estas cortas líneas alcanzan la magnitud narrativa de un corto cinematográfico al narrar desde ángulos tan amplios que captan multitudes de entrecruzamientos de comportamientos humanos.

La literatura es toda la vida de K., tanto que termina viéndose en cualquiera de sus relaciones sociales, lee a sus hermanas, gasta letra a su padre mucho más que una carta, sus amigos están porque comparten textos, con los del teatro cuenta la razón de su parquedad ya que no se atreve a darles sus críticas sobre construcción de las tramas ni sobre lo fallido, a su parecer, de la representación.

Hay muchos aspectos en este diario, muchos usos del diario, por decirlo de alguna manera. Solo menciono los que más recuerdo. Me alegra saber que aún queda otra parte del diario porque es un libro que terminó acompañándome un largo tiempo, marcando también la cadencia de mis días y haciéndome compaginar en tenor sensible con algunos días grises de K.

Vol. 2
Un libro que me acompaña por un largo tiempo y, así como fue escrito, poco a poco marcó el paso de mi día a día. En cada uno, los pensamientos y sentimientos nos van cambiando vertiginosamente. Este libro es una grata influencia sobre ellos. El diario de un escritor es como leer la novela de la aventura de crear, pero más exacto, es seguir la aventura del desarrollo de la sensibilidad humana.

Durante los primeros años de este volumen, Kafka lucha por encontrar los momentos para escribir, la lucha por hacerlo frecuentemente y termina sufriendo una serie de descompensaciones al no encontrar esta la anhelada ocasión.

De esto, en Kafka resulta un nerviosismo, causado por otras cosas más que se suman a esta búsqueda de la escritura. Se trata de cosas efecto de la autocrítica se practica, una actitud de revisión y reproches a sí mismo, una actitud de morderse la cola como los perros, como él mismo lo reconoce. En este tipo de reflexiones del diario reluce una conciencia sobre la propia vida tan lúcida y compleja que revisar sus entramados es todo un deleite cuando se aprende a apreciar un alma de este tipo.

Pese esta actitud que forma el carácter de la mayoría de entradas del diario, hay una que otra donde renace un Kafka que, desde una mezcla de raciocinio y ciega fe, vuelve a darse apoyo para continuar dedicándose a lo único que ciertamente le interesa y le mantiene con ganas de vivir: la literatura. Incluso en estos diarios Kafka llega a definir la literatura como un asunto de sobrevivencia.

En este diario además hay otro orden de entradas, unas prosas que son germen de relatos muy ingeniosos donde recursos como la intriga, las maneras de exposición y descripción de escenas son experimentadas, algunas veces como relatos completos y cerrado, otras veces como meras insinuaciones.

Otras entradas son referencias a lecturas que va llevando. Esto es lo que más le enganchó al diario durante un tiempo, aprender de esa crítica tan profunda y lúcida sobre las obras, además el gesto de rescatar esa esencia de la universalidad de la literatura (he transcrito una entrada de Crítica Literaria, lo pueden ver dando clic AQUÍ). Algunas de las cosas que andaba leyendo Kafka durante esta época del diario fueron numerosas obras de teatro, libros de historia, y un fragmento corto, a diario y luego del almuerzo, del antiguo testamento.

Al final de este volumen, como una obra adicional, está el diario de viaje donde se registra una vida muy tranquila, de hábitos burgueses de reuniones y salones de lectura. Acá el sentido delicado del vivir sale a flote, como una máxima de la calma. Al saber que este diario está dirigido a su amigo Max, resulta la escritura un gesto muy grato. Max es el amigo con quien Kafka hace gran parte del viaje, y para quien es narrado en segunda persona lo que continúa Kafka continúa de viaje cuando su amigo se regresa solo.

¡La escritura y la infinidad de gestos posibles para con los demás! Además es de recordar que la edición de estos diarios y sus Notas son redactadas, de un modo muy personalista, por Max, el entrañable amigo.

[Sammie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This diary gave me depression

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

My rather roundabout reason for reading Kafka’s diaries is the novel Spurious by Lars Iyer, in which the two main characters endlessly debate which one of them is Kafka and which Max Brod in their relationship. Also, I asked my dad whether I should read the diaries or The Trial first and he thought that the diaries would be a suitable warm-up. Moreover, the library had a gorgeous 1948 edition, in impressive condition for a 65 year old book ostensibly available to undergraduate students.

I take some issue with the characterisation of this volume as Kafka’s diaries, though. He may have called them that himself, but they read a lot more like notebooks. In fact, the experience of reading them is odd and disjointed, as they are best described as a salad of frequently un-dated literary fragments. Kafka recounts dreams, repeatedly begins the same story, complains about his parents, criticises a play, and analyses his own soul, but it is challenging to divide one from the other. In many cases, I did not know whether I was reading a fictional or real anecdote. In a way this is interesting, as all diaries rely on the diarist to be accurate in their recollections. Reading Kafka’s diaries brings this into relief, as at times he appears to be fictionalising his life into literature, or projecting literature onto his life. All diarists do this, perhaps the reader is just made more conscious of it here.

The diaries are also largely abstract; Kafka talks of friendship, despair, love, Judaism, literature, and loneliness, with only the occasional venture into more prosaic matters (constipation, eveningwear). That said, he also composes marvellous word-portraits of his friends and their literary-theatrical circle. His style of diary-writing is very much that of the vignette, which can be roughly sorted into fact and fiction by whether it is written in the first or third person. I persisted with the book, which is retrospect was an odd thing to read over Christmas, despite it being very peculiar and at times incomprehensible. For example, a paragraph that begins, 'My repugnance for antitheses is certain' makes absolutely no sense to me at all. The translator and myself are likely both partially to blame for my lack of understanding. Nonetheless, Kafka’s extraordinary, discomforting talent is very evident in these notebooks and they contain elements of hilarity and horror which exert a considerable fascination.

[Tegar Satria · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is kinda hard to read because this book isn't written well to be published. I have mixed feeling what to say about this book, sometimes i don't understand about what he writes, but sometimes the book makes me understand more about Kafka. But i think this book is worth to read if you want to know more deeply about Kafka.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its a personal diary, so its not written in a way thats meant to be read easily. Theres a lot of minutia about plays which he saw which isn't too interesting. However, his descriptions of existential angst are pretty cool. Kafka was a depressive, but this makes him seem more depressed than he probably was due to the fact that diaries are just generally filled with people dumping their anxieties. Problems with talking to people, esp women, family problems, etc.

Also great are his descriptions of the everyday behavior of people around him, which was obvious practice for his books. I particularly like his descriptions of women.

Also lots of jew-talk in here. References to the activities of contemporary Zionist groups and Talmudic scriptures etc.

Stay away unless you love Kafka and/or diaries.

[Brendan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think Kafka bequeathed his diaries to his good friend Max Brod with instructions to burn them. Max then published them. The diaries are a combination of relatively straight forward observations from his day to day life, musings on various subjects close to home (such as Jewish questions, self doubts, friends, literary comments), beginnings or workings of stories and internal monologs spilled onto paper. Kafka lets his fears and self doubts shine through and the diaries reminded me of something I read in Orwell: Life is measured as a series of failures.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Kafka. He is hilarious.