David Zane MairowitzRezensionen

Tegneren Crumb har illustreret denne superbog om Kafka og hans liv og bøger.

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Ogni parola si guarda attorno
in tutte le direzioni prima di
lasciarsi scrivere da me.(pagina 85)

Avvertenza per i passeggeri: SALTARE a piè pari l'introduzione di Goffredo Fofi.
Avvertenza per Fofi: leggere i libri di Kafka prima di parlarne.

Infine, forse, se Crumb avesse lasciato perdere le varie letture / interpretazioni psicoanalitiche sul senso dei libri di Kafka ne avrebbe ricavato un ottimo lavoro (tanto, quelle interpretazioni, sono sempre identiche: la mamma, il papà ed il p. (per i maschietti)).

Infine, sul serio, Max Brod (salvatore dei testi di Kafka) ha voluto riportare 'a baita' (Sergentmagiù, ghe rivarem a baita? - Mario Rigoni Stern) ossia ha voluto riportare alla fonte ebraica l'origine dei pensieri tradotti in scritti da Kafka. Ma lasciamo perdere, dato che una più grossa l'aveva già combinata Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche.

La metamorfosi: a fronte della nostra immagine allo specchio, giorno dopo giorno...
Il processo: a fronte dei tanti muri quotidiani...
Il castello: a fronte delle forze che non ci aiutano nel nostro cammino...
America: dove Kafka a fronte, finalmente, di un mondo reale riesce a fantasticare.

A very good introduction -- in graphic novel format -- to the life and work of Wilhelm Reich, a brilliant psychoanalyst and a man who attempted to reconcile the teachings of Freud and Marx. His later years were characterised by some very crazy ideas, but his earlier work is of great interest. In my view, Reich remains relevant to understanding how the far Right in the USA and elsewhere, obsessed as it is with sexual repression (opposition to gay marriage, abortion, etc), manages to win support from millions of working people.

Great read. Great art. I dug.

Who was Franz Kafka? This book tries to answer that in a graphic novel format. For anyone curious about him, it is worth the read.½

A necessarily simplified version of Dostoevsky's classic, this was a good adaptation within the confines of a graphic novel.
Mairowitz and Korkos set the action in modern Russia to draw parallels between the corruption and inequality of Tzarist Russia and Putin's Russia. Worth an hour of most people's time, I think.½

Of course I do not know what would fix human beings individually or collectively, but of one thing I am fairly certain, that humans individually add up to the collective and that humans individually are way too stupid for our own good, and I suspect there will be possible genetic solutions to that although we are probably too near the end of our rope for it to happen on a large scale. Sooner or later the partisan politicization of issues like the Ebola outbreak are going to prove as fatal however politically successful. I don't think individuals (or small groups) in power have a lot of ability to do good, game changing good, but they do have the power to do bad, to make things worse. History is chock full of that. On a grand scale there is always Hitler, Stalin, and Mao, on a smaller scale the likes of George Bush. We do not usually get to choose between good and bad politics, only bad and worse, sometimes very much worse. So far our social institutions have been able to change and adjust and keep things afloat, but in our Western world the trend is bad and when someone like Bush comes along and gives it a push, that is the case of an individual President making a big difference.

Kafka of course is dealing with non-eugenic humanity based on his knowledge and experience of the past and present. The Cosmos, or Nature, which we as organisms are part of and, if you like, are no more than that, does not in any way seem to care about us in terms of our individual subjectivity or mentality. It always kills us, if we are lucky it ages and debilitates us, and at any time can erupt into a sickness or accident or natural disaster etc. that kills us individually or en masse, regardless of innocence, age, or anything else. You get the picture. In Kafka's world even though societies were nowhere near the size, complexity, or as pervasively organized on a mass scale (that is villages might have intimately organized but not nations), he saw that society internally was becoming a mirror of Nature. That it could kill or harm us as impersonally as the Cosmos and that that was becoming the norm. Many factors contributed to it, industrialization, population growth, advances in communication and transportation and so on. In many ways it was good, but it had a dark side: depersonalization and alienation and social structures that fostered them. Bureaucracy represented this the best, the Court and the Castle are at least in part bureaucracies which have a life and purposes of their own and which are allowed to operate almost as secret societies which can do whatever they like and also have official sanction. In many countries the police and security agencies, even private ones, function like this. They can usually do whatever they want to you nor, as you say, does anyone need to be in charge really. Society is not just outside anyone's control, but it does not act indifferently. In fact Society arguably grows more perverse, permits more perversity, as it grows and evolves, although it may, on a mass scale, provide us, in larger and larger numbers with lots and lots and lots of goodies. It becomes full of twists and turns that are literally Kafkaesque, and the Kafkaesque is a kind of implicit zeitgeist that haunts us all. Kafka right at the beginning sensed the brave new world, and it was his artistry that turned it into our collective nightmares and anguish. It was his artistry that made him so unique and made his nightmares our nightmares, not just in thought but in feeling.

In particular he went to the heart of our existential crisis in a purely material way. We, within the vast and powerful social structures we have created, have become our files, ALL OF US. It was a whole new way to understand human marginalization or residualization, turning people into something less than a person, into their own shadow. Although perhaps not the first to see this, Kundera puts it very nicely which I attach as a separate posting.

It is difficult to decide as to whether to rate the book, or Wilhelm Reich's weird philosophy.

Reich started life as a psychiatrist taking on the work of Freud. Whether he had a nervous breakdown, or whether he was simply nutty, who knows? He created a seriously weird philosophy of aliens, bad karma and general insanity.

The book is excellent. It makes some incredibly tricky concepts, understandable.

I am writing a full review of this book under one of its alternative titles, "Introducing Kafka". However, I am posting this review under the title "R Crumb's Kafka" to alert readers to the fact that it is identical with books that have been published by a variety of publishers under multiple titles over the past 3 decades, with the authors listed in different orders. This information may help readers avoid my own mistake of ordering duplicate works that simply bear different titles, given that all are listed separately at Amazon.com.

This book was first published in 1990 as "Introducing Kafka" (by Totem Press), and was published as "Kafka for Beginners" at about that same time. Over the past 30 years, it has been reprinted many times under these two titles as well as under the title "R. Crumb's Kafka." The latter version gives first authorship to R. Crumb but is the same work as versions that list DZ Mairowitz as first author. It also was reprinted with the simple title "Kafka" in 2013. Publishers have included Totem Books, Kitchen Sink Publ., I-Books, Byron Preiss Graphic Novels, and FantaGraphics Books. All of these works are identical; they all consist of text by Mairowitz and the stunning illustrations by the underground cartoonist R. Crumb. Whatever its title, the book offers a powerful and amusing introduction to the author Franz Kafka and his fiction.½

Great read. Great art. I dug.

In Kafka, Robert Crumb and David Zane Mairowitz presents author Franz Kafka -- himself and a discussion of his works -- in graphic novel format. I picked this volume up in a used bookstore thinking that it would be interesting. It was. I don't know much about Kafka beyond one work (The Trial) that we were required to read in high school. I do have one of his collections in my to-be-read pile, and will definitely pull it out now to read soon.

While this book is clearly not an extensive study, it does provide a solid background on Kafka and and also covers the meaning of "Kafkaesque". The authors make an interesting point: "Could he have become the powerful Adjective -- "Kafkaesque" -- if his name had been Schwarz or Grodzinksi or Blumenthal?" (p. 156).

R. Crumb is a well-known cartoonist and illustrator, and his artwork fits very well with the darkness that is Kafka's personality and works. Warning, though, some illustrations are very graphic when there are violent scenes -- so one would not want to hand this over to a young child.

This book does not make a good graphic novel.

A nearly perfect blend of style and substance. I'm a longtime Crumb fan & Kafka novice. The text told me all I want to know & the amazingly controlled & excellent illustrations filled in the rest, providing a surpisingly satisfying learning experience.½

David Zane Mairowitz thinks Kafka's writing has insufficient Jewish content, so too much of the text here talks about the Jewish situation in Prague in Kafka's time and adduces a lot of highly questionable and possibly discriminatory ideas about Jewish psychology (really? all of them with the same psychology?) such as self-loathing. Although the cover extracts Kafka's comment, "What do I have in common with the Jews? I don't even have anything in common with myself," and it appears in the text too, he is undaunted, and his regret that the only person Kafka seems to have truly loved was not Jewish is palpable. His excoriation of the city of Prague, which he has established meant little if anything to Kafka, for cashing in on its native son makes for a pretty flat ending.

However, this is a comic book, not read for the text but for Robert Crumb's drawings, which have long interested me. He is master of the horror-comic style, which here is aptly used to illustrate Kafka's stories (and perhaps depictions of his father), but also does attractive portraits of sympathetic characters and classic comic-book two-page spreads, especially of cityscapes, real or imaginary. When the text describes a character as a strapping young woman, we know the artist is home free: those familiar with his work will know that strapping young women are a special feature of his work.

The best parts are the retelling of Kafka's stories, which include various bits of information, painlessly delivered, about the circumstances of their creation and some bibliographic details. Max Brod seems somewhat slighted, though I have to say Kafka's original title for his last work, "The Man Who Disappeared," is a better title than Brod's "America." Because of the detailed drawings with many telling and funny details, this little book takes longer to read than you'd think -- but with the stories embedded in it, it's best, and most fun, to take it in slowly.

I read this in parallel with I Am a Memory Come Alive and found it somewhat disappointing. I like R. Crumb a lot, and he seemed like the perfect artist to depict Kafka and his works so I was initially excited about the book. The text in here is written by David Zane Mairowitz who has done similar literary collaborations with other comic artists. A lot of the text in the book is concerned with Kafka's Jewish identity, which I was less interested in than other aspects of his person. For me, the strongest sections of this are the illustrated versions of Kafka's major works. Unfortunately the book is printed on cheap paper that is already beginning to yellow. Worth a read for serious Kafka fans if you come across it, although it is not so easy to find for a reasonable price. Your best shot is probably interlibrary loan through the local public library.

Crumb's drawings are great. Mairowitz doesn't include any sources for his claims, which weakens the text. A foreword or afterword referring to significant scholarly influences on his interpretation might have been helpful; even a "for further reading" bibliography would have bee nice. Instead, I was left wondering what led Mairowitz to make some of the claims that he made about Kafka's point of view. This book is best if taken as art, rather than scholarship, and used to stimulate further reading.½

Joseph K is arrested for a crime he didn't commit and awaits a trial that never happens.

This is my first introduction to Kafka and I thought that this graphic adaption might be an easy way to ease myself into the surreal hopelessness that is the Kafkaesque style. I was wrong.

This piece I think is very well done but it should only ever be a companion piece for the actual novel. I was left feeling confused and bemused throughout most of the story and while I know that this book is supposed to portray the absurdity of the situation, I do believe that a bit of background into the novel will really help the appreciation of this version.

The best part of this book for me was right at the end when Mairowitz spends a few pages detailing Kafka's life. Only recommended for a look if you've first read the original text.

In which celebrated cartoonist Crumb presents a graphic novel-style biography of the father of avant-garde fiction, together with a few mashups of scenes from the fiction. This is an interesting project, though, personally, I'd just as soon let Kafka and my head create my own pictures.½

This is an excellent adaptation of Franz Kafka's The Trial that captures the essence of Kafka's work. Yes, the story itself is still dark and deep, and sometimes very difficult to understand, but I think the visuals really help with this kind of story. The illustrations fit perfectly with the dark and absurd elements of The Trial, and I loved the symbolism in every panel – whether it be the recurring symbolic images of the skeleton, the clock, or the candle, or the symbolic images unique to each part of the story. I found the illustrations made The Trial much more riveting and I had a harder time putting down this version than the original. I'd highly recommend this graphic novel for any Kafka fans, anyone who has read The Trial, or anyone who is interested in the darkly absurd.

This book was a good beginner's primer into Albert Camus, his works, and his beliefs. The illustrations were all very good, though there is just a bit of nudity depicted, so it may not be something you want to let your kids get ahold of. It did a good job of blending literary theory with historical events, and the graphic novel-ish style of the book would probably appeal to a demographic of readers not generally given to literary criticism. I only gave it 3 1/2 stars because, while it is an entertaining and edifying read, it really only hits the high spots with Camus' life and works and could have been even better if it had a little more detail. But then again, it's called "Introducing Camus," so maybe I expected a little too much. Take it for what you will.½

A good introduction to Kafka. Crumb's style is really appropriate for his work.

Apropar-se a la figura de Kafka és complicat i potser una mica desagradable i tot. Per això mateix, en veure el còmic a una tenda de còmics a Saragossa vaig pensar que seria una forma diferent de fer-ho, menys dramàtica potser.
He de dir que no puc contrastar els fets que en ella s'hi conten perquè sé poques coses de la seva vida, només sabia que tenia problemes amb el seu pare.
Aqesut document és una mescla de biografia i resum de la seva obra comentada. Hi ha parts que es tracta d'un llibre amb imatges i d'altres que presenta un format més de còmic (en especial quan resumeix les seves principals obres).
A més a més, l'autor no és simplement un narrador dels fets, també aporta la seva visió personal, directa o indirectament.
En definitiva, un llibre excel·lent, entretingut i que aconsegueix transportar-te a l'ambient de l'època i a la seva obra.½

Fantastisch zijn, mochten het er twee zijn, te grote woorden - maar goed is ie wel. Hij (d.i. Korkos en Mairowitz) verplaatst het verhaal naar het Sint-Petersburg van vandaag - Poetin op de televisie, een bedelaarster wordt een junkie, een nieuwe jas wordt een jeansbroek 'made in america', de woekeraarster wil betaald worden in dollars, filmposters aan de muur ... het zijn kleine aanpassingen, die eigenlijk vooral bewijzen hoe tijdloos het oorspronkelijk verhaal van Dostojevski is.
Minder evenwel dan dit bvb. bij The trial of De meester en Margarita het geval was, staat deze strip op zich - daar heeft de veelheid aan personages iets mee te maken en het iets te vlijtige knip- en plakwerk. De personages, die in het originele boek zo krachtig getekend zijn, krijgen in deze stripbewerking geen inhoud, geen bestaansreden- of recht. Razumikhin moet het doen met enkele regels en krijgt zelfs de kans niet om verliefd te worden op Dunya, de gesprekken over 'misdaad en straf' worden ingekort tot 2 tekstballonen, Sonya kan je evengoed vervangen door een paspop, en die mooie laatste regels - ik citeer ze even uit de aftandse Reinaert-uitgave die hier vlak bij me ligt - 'Dat zou het uitgangspunt voor een nieuwe vertelling kunnen opleveren - maar deze is hiermee beëindigd' (in het Engels: All that might be the subject of a new tale, but our present one is ended.) werden eenvoudigweg geschrapt ...

En toch was dit een fantastische strip, bijna. Niet wanneer u het boek nog niet las, wel wanneer u dat wel al deed en het overleefde. En had ik het zelf niet nog maar net herlezen, ik zou het nu meteen weer doen.

http://occamsrazorlibrary.blogspot.com/2009/09/crime-punishment-graphic-novel.ht...

Franz Kafka's The Trial in de bewerking van Montellier en Mairowitz is in ieder geval een volwassener bewerking dan die van Clod & Ceka. Met meer paranoia, meer onrust, meer lust, meer ruis, ...
Het blijft ook dichter bij het origineel - hakt er minder stukken uit weg, volgt de dialogen, de uitroeptekens, ... en gaat dus de boeken in als een bijzonder verdienstelijke bewerking.

De (vele?) verwijzingen naar Crumb (waarvan ik trouwens ook nog een aan Kafka gewijd boek bezit) en Tardi die hier en daar opduiken zijn bovendien voer voor de ware stripfanaat.

http://occamsrazorlibrary.blogspot.com/2009/08/franz-kafkas-trial-graphic-novel....½

Exquisitely appropriate illustrations from R. Crumb, and a very perceptive text by David Mariowitz make this the best intro to Kafka available.