Classics Review: In the Penal Colony is a sampler, containing the stories "The Judgment" (1912) and "In the Penal Colony" (1914). In both stories Franz Kafka (1883-1924) offers the world as an unpredictable and dangerous place. Rather than present this as an actual story collection (of which there are many), this Penguin series gives the reader a mere hint of Kafka so as to quickly decide if his writing is up your street.
In "The Judgment" the routine and quotidian life of a father and son, business partners, spins into something wildly different. It's tempting to interpret the story in many ways: psychologically, religiously, or autobiographically spring to mind. My choice, as a non-academic, is to read it more literally, letting the emotions created (if any) resonate with those themes, as a form of expressionism. There's no need to delve too deep. This is how the world seems to Kafka, people are not what they seem, tension and conflict are inevitable.
"In the Penal Colony," the other story, presents an explorer in a foreign country who watches the demonstration of a unique torture device. The story reflects the times and Kafka's own existence. It vaguely presages Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery," and may even look forward to the rise of terror, the horrors of the First World War, and European fascism, while unexpectedly looking back at the Spanish Inquisition. For those so inclined it can be easily read as an extended and intricate religious allegory.
In the Penal Colony contains two of Kafka's strongest stories and ones that he felt mattered, which was unusual as he was hypercritical of his work and wanted it all destroyed at his death. This selection is representative and gives an accurate sense of Kafka's writing. Readers who relish these pieces will most likely enjoy his other work. Those who dislike these may want to read no further. [5★]
Should you really want to understand Kafka: Kafka Unleashed should do it!
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Thank you! I'll look for it. One can never have enough Kafka.
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