Franz Kafka (1883-1924), one of the literary geniuses of the twentieth century who fused realism and fantasy, wrote these diaries during 1910-1923 in a bid to prod his creativity. He wrote his diaries until 1923, a year before he died of tuberculosis. Interestingly his career choices include being a novelist and a short story writer and also an insurance man (he was trained to be a lawyer).
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The diaries are deeply personal and flit about here and there as he ponders over his failed relationships, people in his life, ideas for books, details of some part of his daily life, his frustrations with his father for having to work in a factory when he wanted to write, he reflections on his imperfections, the angle of reproach. He was a depressed man, isolated from family and friends and of generally poor health. He frequently doubted himself, his writing and very little of his work actually got published in his lifetime.
Engaged several times he never married. His writing is also (including his diaries) seen as funny by some (perhaps because he was very honest) and one friend is quoted as saying that when he read his stuff Kafka would frequently burst out laughing and stop reading.
The diaries were edited and published by his friend Max Brod after his death.
I picked up this book from Indialog, which at that time had a wonderful collection of classics, well produced and I remember thinking I should improve my literary reading and picked up many - O Henry, Maupassant, Wilde, Austen. Think this one is the last of that series. Thanks Indialog, thanks Keerti.
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