DESCRIPTION OF A STRUGGLE

FRANZ KAFKA – “DIARIES 1910-1923″ (1948)

For anyone interested in and familiar with the works of Kafka these diaries will present an intriguing backdrop to this most enigmatic of twentieth-century writers.

While most people might confine their personal journal entries to the mundane and unambiguous, those of Kafka are as oddly disquieting and peculiar as his fiction, and therein lies their appeal.

An easy read this is most definitely not: I found myself wanting to give up after ten pages or so, as the fragmentary nature of Kafka‘s observations and thoughts, their obscurity and above all, the convoluted way in which they are made are off-putting in the extreme.

However, with perseverance one becomes accustomed to the style, and the book soon reveals itself to be a fascinating window into Jewish intellectual life in the Prague of the early twentieth century as well as, of course, an insight into the ruthless self-criticism and constant doubt of the author.

Fact is sometimes nearly indistinguishable from fiction, as Dr.K‘s dry observations on people encountered randomly on the streets, descriptions of members of the Prague literati and tortured ruminations on his doomed relationships with women and concerns over his health blend seamlessly into sketches of never to be completed stories and early versions of familiar tales.

Toward the end of this lengthy volume, Kafka‘s deteriorating physical condition lend a depressive air to the entries which is hard to get through, although mercifully the book ends with a selection of travel diaries from happier times which serve to lighten the mood.

A must for all Kafka enthusiasts, this volume deserves to counted among his major works, although one can’t quite shake the feeling throughout that one really has no right to be reading what Kafka clearly did not intend for public consumption.

Franz Kafka - obviously not always the tortured desk-bound writer we imagine...

More of my book reviews can be found here.

ARDLE.NET UPDATE

Went out and got me a new scanner today, and so I could finally covert my analogue snaps of Prague, merge them with their digital brethren, and select 42 of the best to form a photo journal of the trip. Just click on the ‘Photos‘ button on the left, and you’re there!

Meanwhile, here’s a sample:

ON THE TRAIL OF THE TRIAL

Back from a riotously successful trip to Prague in which overblown adjectives stumbled over each other in an attempt to describe that wondrous mid-European urban entity. But who needs words when a picture is worth a thousand (of)? (Unless it’s digital, in which case I reckon only about 1,247, but let’s save that little rant for another time).

Well, while we wait for a full write-up and a veritable feast of imagery to appear on this here site in relation to said trip, here’s a little taster: We bring you, all the way from Praha, the glorious Tyn Church in the Old Town Square!

The jet-lag has barely worn off, but already we must hoist rucksack aloft once more, for tomorrow we sally forth to Osaka to attempt to meet up with an incoming brother, and thence to Kyoto for four days.

After that cultural gem has been duly absorbed, the poor bastiche must somehow endure ten days back in the ‘Shima at Lightfoot Towers. He has been forewarned that the maximum touristic potential of these here parts is three days of sightseeing tops – after that a deck of cards and computer wargames must suffice.

We will see how he fares…

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS A DUKLA PRAGUE AWAY KIT

OK, just doing that last minute paranoid checking that automatically accompanies a trip abroad, because (drumroll) – I’m off to Prague for a week!

I know it’s a sign of a compulsive/obsessive disorder, but still I can’t relax enough to stop myself from viewing the contents of my money belt umpteen times just to make sure everything’s there.

I’m just not like those cool customers who casually throw a few things into a bag then proceed to the airport alarmingly late and are the last folks to board the aircraft.

But then again, it’s these types who are the knobends you see on those fly-on-the-wall documentaries about airports who have three seconds until their flight leaves and are now just reporting to the desk that they can’t find their passport. Tossers!

Anyway, stay tuned, as I’ll try to do a post from the great Czech city itself (wow!). That is, of course, if I don’t end up missing my flight due to a forgotten travel document…

SUMMERTIME BLUES

For us grunts manning the frontline trenches of the English Teaching Front: Far Eastern Sector, June marks the onset of the most unpleasant time of the year. A little over half way through the term, and as the interest and enthusiasm of our charges wanes, so too does our own friendly classroom demeanour give way to prickly bad-temperedness and the ensuing ejaculation of the kind of phrases we ourselves were subjected to at school, and vowed never to inflict on others. Oh, history does indeed repeat itself!

To compound this educational ennui comes the Great Time of No National Holidays, a barren stretch of no release which does not let up until late July, and if this wasn’t enough, the elements too begin to conspire against us poor pale big-nosed barbarians. By now temperatures have soared into the high 20’s C, and sticky humidity is being stockpiled prior to the imminent launch of the rainy season, home to foul-smelling gaijin armpits, clinging warm damp under garments and a perpetual classroom battle with students over who gets to control the air conditioning. That’s if we’re lucky enough to be in establishments who deem it even necessary to switch on said machinery.

Still, there is much to look forward to this summer. Late July should
see us up in Tokyo for a spell, that enchanting 40 C of the capital
easilly offset by the pleasure of being an anonymous dot in an
earthquake-prone concrete jungle.

Early September and the Missus and I are off to Prague to see what the
rich Americans and rampaging mobs of EasyJet lager louts have done to
it in the twelve years since my last visit.

September 18th should see brother Matt arrive for a two-week stay, and
so of course a few days up in Kyoto are a must, and always a great
pleasure.

Meanwhile, whole teams of overall-clad geeks are working round the clock to bring http://www.ardle.net into the 21st century. Yes, the site is getting a complete overhaul. In anticipation of the future move from HTML to XML, I’m redoing every page in the transitional form XHTML, together those sexy Style Sheets that I have only now come to grips with. Most pages will look the same, but some are being redesigned graphically, too (look at that groovy new main portal, for example!). You never know, even the mythical computer wargaming section may materialise this summer…