I'm looking for recommendations on Kafka. What books would you recommend that are similar in feeling and atmosphere to The Castle?
Something about uncertainty, cold, a strange sense of something mystical.
I know it's probably a long shot because books are usually unique in feeling (at least for me), but still. I also like how the book was also an experience, in that I didn't necessarily enjoy reading it because it was so tedious and drawn-out, but it really made you feel like the main character did at times. And looking back on it, I get a feeling of wistful nostalgia, like you sometimes get with not altogether pleasant experiences.
Also enjoyed "The Tartar Steppe" by Dino Buzzati, if that matters. For some reason, they seem to evoke a similar feeling in me.
if you're looking for more kafka, then literally anything else he wrote, most obviously the trial
if you're looking for stuff by other people with a kafkaesque feel, then try the melancholy of resistance by laszlo krasnahorkhai and the unconsoled by kazuo ishiguro
>>7481946
I've read pretty much everything by Kafka himself, and while I enjoyed it, none of it was quite like The Castle. It's probably the combination of knee-deep snow and alienation.
I've also read the Unconsoled. It was okay. I'll give the other one a try as well, thanks!
Anything else, anyone?
http://holybooks.lichtenbergpress.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/A-country-doctor-by-Franz-Kafka.pdf?351736
This short story is strange. It gets really weird towards the end.
>>7481946
>the melancholy of resistance by laszlo krasnahorkhai
Thank you, that seems to be just what I was looking for. I thought the name looked familiar for some reason, and after looking on wikipedia, it turns out that I actually saw the movie it was adapted as, which I liked.
Going to look at other works by him as well.
>>7481924
I think "The Opposing Shore" would be a good fit for what you are looking for OP, it also has 10/10 prose even in translation. Its similar to Buzzanti but I've seen some people on the web say they like Gracq better.
>>7481924
>Also enjoyed "The Tartar Steppe" by Dino Buzzati
Nigga where you been? I've talked about The Tartar Steppe here a few times and I have ran into almost no one that's read it. But you're right it does remind me of a highly subdued Kafka.
While not the best fit for what you're looking for Kokoro comes to mind, it drips with depression I warn you.
>>7481946
+1 on Melancholy of Resistance
JORGE LUIS BORGES
Kangaroo Notebook - Kobo Abe
Gave a pretty Kafkaesque vibe, but more compared to the funny aspect of Kafkas work, while still confusing it was less gloomy than Kafka.
