FRANZ KAFKA - MASTER OF METAPHOR AND PARABLE

BIJELJINA, JULY 2 /SRNA/ – Austrian writer of Jewish origin Franz Kafka /1883–1924/, a classic of world literature and the author of The Trial, one of the greatest novels of the 20th century, was born on July 3, 1883.

Until 1945, Kafka was largely unknown, as he published very little during his lifetime.

His major works, including his letters and Diaries, were published by his friend Max Brod, despite Kafka's explicit request that they be burned.

Although the plots and situations in Kafka's works are presented as visions and dreams, they depict a world inhabited by protagonists whose spiritual horizon allows them to grasp only a small part of the reality surrounding them, leaving them engaged in a hopeless struggle against anonymous forces.

Kafka's writing is distinguished by precision of expression and imagination, as well as multilayered parables which, despite being conveyed in restrained, emotionless language without commentary, form a unified whole reflecting the events and people of the 20th century.

His novel The Trial, regarded as a literary masterpiece, metaphorically portrays every human being as condemned to death from the moment of birth.

Kafka's other best-known works include the novels The Castle and Amerika, as well as the short stories The Judgment, The Metamorphosis, In the Penal Colony, A Country Doctor, and A Hunger Artist.

Franz Kafka died in 1924.