“You must reckon with life, Franz Biberkopf, life is a reckoning.” Book One: The Punishment Begins Franz Biberkopf is released from Tegel prison after serving four years for […]
German literature
In the Penal Colony
“It’s a peculiar apparatus,” said the Officer to the Explorer. In the Penal Colony is a haunting novella by Franz Kafka that explores themes of justice, power, and […]
German literature
Amerika
“He was looking out of the window, and the sight of the people in the street made him feel even more lonely.” Chapter 1: The Stoker Karl Rossmann, […]
German literature
The Castle
“No one can really be called a stranger in the Castle; we are all the Castle’s people.” The Castle follows K., a land surveyor who arrives in a […]
German literature
The Metamorphosis
“When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin.” Chapter 1 Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman, […]
German literature
The Trial
“Someone must have been telling lies about Josef K., for without having done anything wrong he was arrested one fine morning.” Chapter 1: Arrest Josef K., a senior […]
German literature
The Glass Bead Game
“Truth is lived, not taught.” Introduction The Glass Bead Game (also known as Magister Ludi) is Hermann Hesse’s final and most ambitious novel. Set in a futuristic society […]
German literature
Demian
“I wanted only to try to live in accord with the promptings which came from my true self. Why was that so very difficult?” Chapter 1: Two Worlds […]
German literature
Narcissus and Goldmund
“You are an artist, and I am a thinker. You sleep at the mother’s breast; I wake in the desert.” Part One: The Monastery Narcissus, a disciplined and […]
German literature
Siddhartha
“Wisdom cannot be imparted. Wisdom that a wise man attempts to impart always sounds like foolishness to someone else… Knowledge can be communicated, but not wisdom.” Part One: […]