Suad Shamma's Reviews > Kafka

I have a confession to make...I've never read a Kafka book.

I know, it's shocking. So why am I even reading this graphic biography of the man? The main reason I picked this up is because of how beautiful it was. Robert Crumb and David Zane Mairowitz have done a fantastic job putting together a history of Kafka by giving us pages of beautifully illustrated material.

Of course I know who Franz Kafka is, and I've heard a lot about him. I know his books, I know what he's written, and I even know some of what his books talk about. However, I never realized how dark and twisted he actually was until I read this brief biography of him. His thoughts and feelings illustrated in pictures was a brilliant touch to this haunted man. I loved that we even got summaries of his famous works in the form of drawings as well.

I don't think I was drawn to Kafka very much as a person, although I did enjoy this book, but he left me feeling unmoved with him, his life and his death.

That being said, it did make me want to pick up one of his books and start reading them, for no other reason than the fact that he was a good writer.