The Sudden Walk by Franz Kafka

We love stories that are self-contained. TRUE Flashbytes. In fact, it’s so easy to place it even fits right in on Reddit. The Sudden Walk by Franz Kafka is one of our favorite stories of all time. Translated by Willa and Edwin Muir The actual story itself is only two sentences long, with the first…

Children on a Country Road by Franz Kafka

Translated by Willa and Edwin Muir I heard the wagons rumbling past the garden fence, sometimes I even saw them through gently swaying gaps in the foliage. How the wood of their spokes and shafts creaked in the summer heat! Laborers were coming from the fields and laughing so that it was a scandal. I…

The Truth About Sancho Panza by Franz Kafka

The Truth About Sancho Panza by Franz Kafka

Talk about your SHORT stories! The Truth About Sancho Panza by Franz Kafka was first published in 1931, seven years after the author’s death. While classified by some as a short story, it is in fact what is known as a parable. In Spanish, a Sancho is a sidekick, while Panza refers to a man’s…

Unmasking a Confidence Trickster by Franz Kafka

Unmasking a Confidence Trickster by Franz Kafka

“Unmasking a Confidence Trickster” is a short story by Franz Kafka, first published in 1912, not a full book, and is often included in collections like Contemplation. The story follows a narrator who, after being led on a long, pointless walk by a seemingly charming but suspicious man, finally recognizes him as a fraud, feels…

Excerpt: The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

Excerpt: The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka – Chapter One… When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin. He was lying on his back as hard as armor plate, and when he lifted his head a little, he saw his vaulted brown belly, sectioned…