Kafka: A Manga Adaptation (Japanese Novellas)
£10.10£12.30 (-18%)
A sublimely eerie manga adaptation of classic Kafka stories, with a starkly beautiful illustration style
Nine of Franz Kafka’s most memorable tales are here given fresh life with dazzling graphic renderings by the brother-and sister manga creators Nishioka Kyōdai . With their distinctive, surreal style of illustration, they have reimagined the fantastic, the imperceptible and the bizarre in Kafka’s work, creating a hauntingly powerful visual world.
These stories of enigmatic figures and uncanny transformations are stripped to their core, offering profound new understandings.
Includes ‘The Metamorphosis’, ‘A Hunger Artist’, ‘In the Penal Colony’, ‘A Country Doctor’ and more.
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Additional information
| Publisher | 1st edition (26 Oct. 2023), Pushkin Press |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 176 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1782279849 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1782279846 |
| Dimensions | 14.61 x 1.04 x 21.03 cm |
by lydscl
This collection (presented for the first time in English) of eerie graphic adaptations of 9 classic Kafka short stories by brother-and-sister duo known as Nishioka Kyodai provide readers with a new and unique vision of Kafka’s surreal works.
Features adapted versions of:
The Metamorphosis
A Hunger Artist
In the Penal Colony
A Country Doctor
The Concerns of a Patriarch
The Bucket Rider
Jackals and Arabs
A Fratricide
The Vulture
I have never encountered Kafka before and this manga style, very reminiscent of Junji Ito, is not my normal go to for manga but in the context of this work, is perfect for the oddities that are the short stories being presented.
Overall, I found the collection to be well put together if not a little confusing (mainly because I’m not at all familiar with Kafka’s work) and wasn’t sure what to expect. However, as a complete novice, by the time I got to the end, I felt that it was also a great gateway introduction to his work. My favourite two stories were The Metamorphosis and Fratricide, and I think these two are the most accessible to readers who potentially aren’t au fait with either Kafka or this style of manga.
I feel that the artistic style definitely enhanced the surrealist nature of the stories and, at times, verged on horror (The Vulture and A Hunger Artist) and melancholic fairy tale (The Bucket Knight). It’s certainly memorable, Daliesque even, in how it goes to the deepest recesses of the human mind and twists the ordinary into something grotesque and unsettling in many areas. The translation suited the illustrations perfectly, and the stories flowed well, keeping the eye interested in the different ways images and words are presented throughout.
Definitely a niche piece of work and may not have wide appeal but if you’re looking for something different to read, maybe a little outside your comfort zone and a little challenging then this is definitely one to pick up.