The Complete Stories of Franz Kafka
The Complete Stories of Franz Kafka is a compilation of all of Kafka's short stories. With the exception of three novels, this collection includes all of his narrative work. The book was originally edited by Nahum N. Glatzer and published by Schocken Books in 1971. It was reprinted in 1995 with an introduction by John Updike.
The collection includes all the works published during Kafka's lifetime, with the exception of The Stoker which is usually incorporated as the first chapter of his unfinished novel Amerika. Some of the stories included in the book are fragmented or in various states of incompletion. Most of the stories are translated by Willa and Edwin Muir, with occasional translations by Tania and James Stern.
Several fables, parables and philosophical pieces are not included in this collection, as they were never meant to be independent stories or never intended for publication. These can be found in Kafka's diaries, notebooks and letters.
Contents
Foreword by John UpdikeTwo Introductory Parables
- "Before the Law" from the ninth chapter of the novel The Trial
- "An Imperial Message" from the short story "The Great Wall of China"
The Longer Stories
Description of a StruggleWedding Preparations in the CountryThe JudgmentThe MetamorphosisIn the Penal ColonyThe Village Schoolmaster (The Giant Mole)Blumfeld, an Elderly BachelorThe Warden of the TombA Country DoctorThe Hunter Gracchus + fragmentThe Great Wall of China + fragmentA Report to an Academy + two fragmentsThe RefusalA Hunger ArtistInvestigations of a DogA Little WomanThe BurrowThe Shorter Stories
Children on a Country RoadThe TreesClothesExcursion into the MountainsThe RejectionThe Street WindowThe TradesmanAbsent-minded Window-gazingThe Way HomePassers-byOn the TramReflections for Gentlemen-JockeysThe Wish to be a Red IndianUnhappinessBachelor's Ill LuckUnmasking a Confidence TricksterThe Sudden WalkResolutionsA DreamUp in the GalleryA FratricideThe Next VillageA Visit to a MineJackals and ArabsThe BridgeThe Bucket RiderThe New AdvocateAn Old ManuscriptThe Knock at the Manor GateEleven Sons- My Neighbor
- A Crossbreed
- The Cares of a Family Man
- A Common Confusion
- The Truth about Sancho Panza
- The Silence of the Sirens
- Prometheus
- The City Coat of Arms
- Poseidon
- Fellowship
- At Night
- The Problem of Our Laws
- The Conscription of Troops
- The Test
- The Vulture
- The Helmsman
- The Top
- A Little Fable
- Home-Coming
- First Sorrow
- The Departure
- Advocates
- The Married Couple
- Give it Up!
- ''On Parables''
Postscript
By Nahum N. GlatzerOn the material included in this volume
Notes on the writing and publication history of the stories and fragments.Chronology
Chronology of Kafka's life and writing.Selected writings on Kafka
A list of critical and biographical essays on Kafka.Editions
- Kafka, Franz. The Complete Stories. New York: Schocken Books, 1971, 1988
- Kafka, Franz. The Complete Stories. New York: Schocken Books, 1995. With a foreword by John Updike