Reiner Stach is the author of the definitive three-volume biography of Franz Kafka: Kafka: The Early Years; Kafka: The Decisive Years; and Kafka: The Years of Insight (all Princeton). He is also the author of Is That Kafka? 99 Finds. Shelley Frisch is an award-winning translator whose work includes Stach’s Kafka biography, Karin Wieland’s Dietrich & Riefenstahl, and Billy Wilder on Assignment (Princeton), among many other books.
"""Kafka’s mistrust of self-scrutiny, and his equal need for it, are nowhere more dazzlingly displayed than in this jewel of twentieth-century literature.""---Ben Hutchinson, Times Literary Supplement ""[Stach’s] commanding knowledge of Kafka’s life and work richly informs his interpretations of these hitherto generally neglected masterpieces of concentrated thought and quasi-mystical insight. Stach provides invaluable guidance along this shadowy path. The aphorisms are as enigmatic as they are beautiful. . . . Indeed, it could be argued that, for all their brevity and compression, in the aphorisms we find the essential Kafka.""---John Banville, Irish Times ""Taut translations. . . . Indispensable commentary.""---Max Norman, Wall Street Journal ""In this newly annotated edition, Reiner Stach—who knows more about Kafka’s life than anyone else alive—provides data-rich, facing-page commentary for each gnomic observation. He is assisted, as usual, by his nonpareil translator, Shelley Frisch. . . . His commentary eschews definitive interpretations but leaves the reader better able to ponder [Kafka's] tantalizing pronouncements.""---Michael Dirda, Washington Post ""An astute and subtle commentary. . . . The intellectual risks of commenting on the comments of Kafka are enormous, but Stach takes them in his stride, and Shelley Frisch’s English version keeps pace admirably.""---Michael Wood, London Review of Books ""If you have a serious interest in Kafka’s life and writings, The Aphorisms of Franz Kafka is a necessary port of call. It gives you all the information necessary to approach and understand what is certainly Kafka’s most personal testimony.""---Paul Kane, Jildy Sauce ""Stach’s introduction and commentaries and a fresh new translation . . . make you feel at home. In addition to excerpts from Kafka’s crossed-out or amended first drafts, there are quotations from the diaries and letters that are often equal if not superior to the aphorisms themselves.""---Stuart Mitchner, Town Topics ""If you fancy giving yourself food for thought, then The Aphorisms are ideal.""---Alexander Adams, Brazen Head"