Giulio Schiavoni Books

This splendid new translation presents an extraordinary work of modern literature, featuring facing-page commentary by Kafka's acclaimed biographer. Written in 1917 and 1918, the Zürau aphorisms consist of over 100 philosophical reflections composed in a Bohemian village. Among Kafka's most enigmatic writings, they delve into profound questions about truth, morality, and the spiritual and sensory realms. This bilingual volume is the first annotated edition, offering valuable insights into Kafka's mind. Edited and introduced by renowned biographer Reiner Stach, and translated by Shelley Frisch, each aphorism is displayed on its own page in both English and the original German, accompanied by enlightening notes. The aphorisms blend literary and analytical thought, showcasing radical ideas and original imagery, all conveyed in exceptionally condensed language. They evoke Kafka's unsettling charm, often leading readers into unfamiliar territory that can transform into moments of clarity: "I have never been in this place before: breathing works differently, and a star shines next to the sun, more dazzlingly still." Ultimately, this volume reveals that these multifaceted gems are deeply connected to Kafka's novels and stories, situated at the very heart of his literary cosmos. Long overlooked by readers and scholars, these aphorisms finally receive the attention they deserve.

This collection of new translations brings together the small proportion of Kafka's works that he himself thought worthy of publication. It includes Metamorphosis, his most famous work, an exploration of horrific transformation and alienation; Meditation, a collection of his earlier studies; The Judgement, written in a single night of frenzied creativity; The Stoker, the first chapter of a novel set in America and a fascinating occasional piece, and The Aeroplanes at Brescia, Kafka's eyewitness account of an air display in 1909. Together, these stories reveal the breadth of Kafka's literary vision and the extraordinary imaginative depth of his thought.

Set in a boarding school in a remote area of the Habsburg Empire at the turn of the last century, The Confusions of Young Torless is an intense study of an adolescent's psychological development as he struggles to come to terms with his conflicting emotions. Through his relationship with two other boys Torless is led into sadistic and sexual encounters with a third pupil which both repel and fascinate him. Estranged from everyday life, Torless gradually learns to accept his experiences and describe them with analytical precision.

Karl Rossman has been banished by his parents to America, following a family scandal. There, with unquenchable optimism, he throws himself into the strange experiences that lie before him as he slowly makes his way into the interior of the great continent. Kafka's first novel (begun in 1911 and never finished) is infused with a quite un-Kafkaesque blitheness and sunniness, brought to life in this lyrical translation that returns to the original manuscript of the book.