EPISODE · May 4, 2025 · 16 MIN
Fiction and the Fantastic: Stories by Franz Kafka
from Close Readings · host London Review of Books
In the stories of Franz Kafka we find the fantastical wearing the most ordinary, realist dress. Though haunted by abjection and failure, Kafka has come to embody the power and potential of literary imagination in the 20th century as it confronts the nightmares of modernity. In this episode, Marina Warner is joined by Adam Thirlwell to discuss the ways in which Kafka extended the realist tradition of the European novel by drawing on ‘simple forms’ – proverbs, wisdom literature and animal fables – to push the boundaries of what literature could explore, with reference to stories including ‘The Judgment’, ‘In the Penal Colony’ and ‘A Report to the Academy’. Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen to the full episode, and all our other Close Readings series, subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://lrb.me/applecrff In other podcast apps: https://lrb.me/closereadingsff Further reading in the LRB: Franz Kafka (trans. Michael Hofmann): Unknown Laws https://lrb.me/ffkafka1 Rivka Galchen: What Kind of Funny is He? https://lrb.me/ffkafka2 Judith Butler: Who Owns Kafka? https://lrb.me/ffkafka3 J.P. Stern: Bad Faith https://lrb.me/ffkafka4 LRB AUDIOBOOKS Discover audiobooks from the LRB: https://lrb.me/audiobooksff Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
What this episode covers
In the stories of Franz Kafka we find the fantastical wearing the most ordinary, realist dress. Though haunted by abjection and failure, Kafka has come to embody the power and potential of literary imagination in the 20th century as it confronts the nightmares of modernity. In this episode, Marina Warner is joined by Adam Thirlwell to discuss the ways in which Kafka extended the realist tradition of the European novel by drawing on ‘simple forms’ – proverbs, wisdom literature and animal fables – to push the boundaries of what literature could explore, with reference to stories including ‘The Judgment’, ‘In the Penal Colony’ and ‘A Report to the Academy’. Non-subscribers will only hear an extract from this episode. To listen to the full episode, and all our other Close Readings series, subscribe: Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://lrb.me/applecrff In other podcast apps: https://lrb.me/closereadingsff Further reading in the LRB: Franz Kafka (trans. Michael Hofmann): Unknown Laws https://lrb.me/ffkafka1 Rivka Galchen: What Kind of Funny is He? https://lrb.me/ffkafka2 Judith Butler: Who Owns Kafka? https://lrb.me/ffkafka3 J.P. Stern: Bad Faith https://lrb.me/ffkafka4 LRB AUDIOBOOKS Discover audiobooks from the LRB: https://lrb.me/audiobooksff Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Fiction and the Fantastic: Stories by Franz Kafka
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