1
of
1
The Diaries of Franz Kafka
Brief Description
The essential translation of the author's complete, uncensored diaries, revealing the idiosyncrasies and rough edges of one of the twentieth century's most influential writers. Dating from 1909 to 1923, The Diaries of Franz Kafka contains a broad array of writing, including accounts of daily events, assorted...
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
Buy to Win
Purchase this title for your chance to win a
Penguin Classics Prize Pack!
TEMPORARILY OUT OF STOCK
Please add to wishlist to be notified when back in stock
Sorry, we're currently out of stock of The Diaries of Franz Kafka. Please add to your Wishlist and we'll send you an email as soon as it's back in stock.
Latest News
Exciting New Tonies - Minecraft / Chronicles of Narnia
New Bluey Toys have arrived at Toy Hero
Remembering Sir Sam Neill
I was so saddened when I heard of the passing of Sam Neill. I've enjoyed...
Book Briefing - 5th August
Welcome to this week's Book Briefing where we round up the news for the week!
Have you heard of ... SolarPunk?
I love a niche genre and discovering a range of books that have things in...
The Books I'd Recommend For Every New Parent
From the very first picture books, the life changing poetry, as well as the books...
See more
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
feedback is welcome!
Description
The essential translation of the author's complete, uncensored diaries, revealing the idiosyncrasies and rough edges of one of the twentieth century's most influential writers.
Dating from 1909 to 1923, The Diaries of Franz Kafka contains a broad array of writing, including accounts of daily events, assorted reflections and observations, literary sketches, drafts of letters, records of dreams, and unrevised texts of stories. This volume makes available for the first time in English a comprehensive reconstruction of Kafka's handwritten diary entries and provides substantial new content, restoring all the material omitted from previous publicationsβnotably, names of people and undisguised details about them, a number of literary writings, and passages of a sexual nature, some of them with homoerotic overtones.
By faithfully reproducing the diaries' distinctiveβand often surprisingly unpolishedβwriting as it appeared in Kafka's notebooks, translator Ross Benjamin brings to light not only the author's use of the diaries for literary invention and unsparing self-examination but also their value as a work of genius in and of themselves.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780241695753
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 01 May 2025
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Penguin Classics
Contributors:
- Translated by Ross Benjamin
- Translated by Ross Benjamin
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 41.0mm
Width: 129.0mm
Height: 198.0mm
Weight: 505g
Pages: 704
About the Author
Franz Kafka (Author) Franz Kafka (1883-1924) was born of Jewish parents in Prague. Several of his story collections were published in his lifetime and his novels, The Trial, The Castle and Amerika, were published posthumously by his editor Max Brod. Ross Benjamin (Translator) Ross Benjamin's translations include Friedrich H lderlin's Hyperion, Joseph Roth's Job, and Daniel Kehlmann's You Should Have Left and Tyll. He was awarded the Helen and Kurt Wolff Translator's Prize for his rendering of Michael Maar's Speak, Nabokov, and he received a Guggenheim Fellowship for his work on Franz Kafka's diaries.
Also by Franz Kafka
View all-
Metamorphosis: Popular Penguins
Metamorphosis: Popular Penguins by Franz Kafka is a compelling collection that showcases a selection of Kafka's works which he considered significant and worthy of publication. This volume promises to take readers on a journey through Kafkaβs unique literary landscape, marked by his distinct style and profound thematic concerns. The collection opens with Metamorphosis, Kafka's most celebrated work. It narrates the...Paperback$1500Elsewhere:$1599Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Investigations of a Dog
Investigations of a Dog by Franz Kafka presents a unique and imaginative journey into the mind of a canine philosopher. Through the eyes of a curious and introspective dog, Kafka dissects the intricacies of existence, perception, and the limits of understanding. The narrator, a dog deeply engrossed in the quest for knowledge, embarks on a thoughtful exploration of his world,...Paperback$299Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Metamorphosis
Introducing Little Clothbound Classicsβirresistible, mini editions of short works by the world's greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith. One morning, ordinary salesman Gregor Samsa wakes up to find himself transformed into a giant cockroach. Metamorphosis, Kafka's masterpiece of unease and black humour, is one of the twentieth century's most influential works of fiction, and is accompanied here by...Hardback$2300Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Trial: Popular Penguins
The story begins with a startling turn of events: "Somebody must have laid false information against Josef K., for he was arrested one morning without having done anything wrong." From this cryptic and unnerving outset, The Trial: Popular Penguins delves into the nightmarish and absurd world of Josef K., an ordinary bank officer who suddenly finds himself entangled in a...Paperback$1300Elsewhere:$1599Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Castle
The Castle is Kafka's last great, unfinished novelβ the book that hangs over the whole modern era like a nightmare. The Castle tells the story of K., the unwanted Land Surveyor who is never to be admitted to the Castle nor accepted in the village, and yet cannot go home. As he encounters dualities of certainty and doubt, hope and...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
The Trial
The Trial is Kafka's gripping work of psychological horror. A terrifying psychological trip into the life of one Joseph K., an ordinary man who wakes up one day to find himself accused of a crime he did not commit, a crime whose nature is never revealed to him. Once arrested, he is released, but must report to court on a...Paperback$2200Elsewhere:$2400Unit price /UnavailableBackorderShips mid August -
13% offMetamorphosis and Other Stories
A collection of Kafka's greatest stories, including his famous tale of alienation, now in Penguin Black Classics. This collection of new translations brings together the small proportion of Kafka's works that he himself thought worthy of publication. It includes Metamorphosis, his most famous work, an exploration of horrific transformation and alienation; Meditation, a collection of his earlier studies; The Judgement,...Paperback$2000Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Complete Novels
The Complete Novels of one of the greatest German writers of all time, collected together in one literary masterpiece. Kafka's characters are victims of forces beyond their control, estranged and rootless citizens deceived by authoritarian power. Filled with claustrophobic description and existential profundity, Kafka has been compared to a literary Woody Allen. In The Trial, Joseph K is relentlessly hunted...Paperback$3400Elsewhere:$3700Unit price /UnavailableAvailableShips in 4-6 weeks -
Metamorphosis and Other Stories
A PMC reissue of this collection of Kafka's greatest short fiction, translated by Michael Hofmann. A reissue of the Penguin Modern Classics edition, this collection of new translations brings together the small proportion of Kafka's works that he himself thought worthy of publication. It includes Metamorphosis, his most famous work, an exploration of horrific transformation and alienation; Meditation, a collection...Paperback$2300Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Letters to Milena
A window into the desires and hopes of the twentieth-century's most prophetic and important writer. You are the knife I turn inside myself Letters to Milena contains Franz Kafka's letters to his one-time muse, Milena Jesenska, providing an intimate window into the desires and hopes of the twentieth-century's most prophetic and important writer. Kafka first made the acquaintance of Milena...Paperback$3000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
The Complete Short Stories
The Complete Short Stories by Franz Kafka showcases the brilliance of the 20th century's greatest visionary. This collection is universally acknowledged as highlighting Kafkaβs profound impact on literature and modern thought. As W. H. Auden famously stated, "Kafka is important to us because his predicament is the predicament of modern man." His works encapsulate the existential challenges of contemporary life,...Paperback$2400Elsewhere:$2600Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
19% offThe Metamorphosis
The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka's 1915 novella of unexplained horror and nightmarish transformation, became a worldwide classic and remains, a century later, one of the most widely read works of fiction in the world. It is the story of travelling salesman Gregor Samsa, who wakes one morning to find himself transformed into a monstrous insect. This hugely influential work inspired George...Paperback$1700Elsewhere:$2299Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow
More from Biography & Memoir
View all-
This Angry Pen of Mine
This Angry Pen of Mine by Layne Staley invites you to dive into the untold creative world of Layne Staley, the legendary voice behind Alice in Chains. This extraordinary collection showcases his handwritten lyrics, deeply personal poetry, stunning original artwork, rare photos, fan tributes, and so much more. Step into the world of Layne Staley like never before. For the...Hardback$7299Elsewhere:$8999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseFamesick
Chronicling the tumultuous decade between the premiere of Girls to her 2021 shotgunΒ wedding (minus the baby, because she has no uterus), Lena Dunham takes us through herΒ journey with her trademark mix of humor, unsparing honesty, and keen eye for detail. We peek behind the scenes - of her work, her family, her relationships, and her battle to reclaim her body...Paperback$3299Elsewhere:$3500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseDogs, Boys and Other Things I've Cried About
From the social media superstar behind @SimonSits, Isabel Klee--known for her heartwarming tales of dog rescue--comes an utterly winning memoir about a twentysomething woman's search for true love in New York City and the dogs who helped her find it. A Jersey girl by birth, Isabel Klee had always wanted to live in New York City. At age 20, she...Paperback$3299Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Stakes
Read our interview with author Noelle McCarthy! A darkly funny, sparkling follow-up to the authorβs bestselling memoirΒ Grand. You have to invite him in. You have to want the vampireβs badness in the house with you. Growing up in Catholic Ireland, Noelle McCarthy is captivated by Bram StokerβsΒ Dracula. The vampire is a risk-free fantasy, a suave alternative to the fraught realities...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$4000Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseBuilt for This
Raised among strong women, butcher's benches, and hard ideas about what men are meant to be, Brad Poulter grows up knowing he's different long before he has the words for it. But in late '90s small-town New Zealand, 'different' isn't discussed, it's managed. Joining the Royal New Zealand Navy offers escape, certainty, and belonging. The rules are clear, the uniform...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Even the Good Girls Will Cry
Thanks to a thrown beer bottle and a fan letter to a P.O. box, Melissa Auf der Maur's first band scored an opening slot for the Smashing Pumpkins in her bohemian home town, Montreal. Sensing Melissa's talent, Billy Corgan recommended her to Courtney Love. Whisked from her local scene, Melissa joined Hole just after the deaths of Kurt Cobain and...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseAn Ocean and a Day
An utterly riveting, moving and poignant memoir of grief and loss that will speak to anyone who's ever lost someone they love. An Ocean and a Day is Hannah Richell's personal account of losing her husband, Matt, in a surfing accident on Tamarama beach in 2014. It is the story of the grief journey she travelled over the first two...Paperback$3199Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseA Place to Stand
A Place to Stand by Clare Ward is a profound memoir that delves into the life of a country doctor living and working in the Hokianga Harbour area in the far north of Aotearoa New Zealand. This region is sparsely populated and poses numerous health challenges. This thoughtful account details Clareβs thirty-year career, highlighting the people she works with and...Hardback$3199Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseRule of Lies
Written with all the pace and energy of a John Grisham novel β¦ An incredible true story and a great read! BILL BROWDER, author of Red Notice and Freezing Order An American lawyerβs brilliant, propulsive story of witnessing and playing a part in the transformation of Russia under Yeltsin and Putin. A true tale of fascinating personalities, criminal intrigue, harrowing...Paperback$2999Elsewhere:$3799Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
Rory
TheΒ New York TimesΒ bestseller The #1Β Irish TimesΒ bestseller The definitive biography of Rory McIlroy, the most important, popular and confounding player of the post-Tiger era. Rory McIlroy contains multitudes. The child of a working-class family from a small town in a war-torn homeland now commutes to work in his own private jet and counts billionaires as confidants. He can overwhelm a golf...Paperback$3699Elsewhere:$4199Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseTe Kaikaukau | The Swimmer
Novelist, memoirist and playwright Witi Ihimaera β author of Pounamu, Pounamu and The Whale Rider β decided, at the age of eighty, to dive back into the water and spend a year full-time at Te WΔnanga Takiura, immersing himself in his own language, in te reo MΔori. This book tells the story of this kaikaukau, this swimmer, and his year...Paperback$3500Elsewhere:$4500Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow -
New ReleaseThis Is Me: A Reckoning
This is a searingly honest and moving memoir from double Golden Globe-nominatedactress Hayden Panettiere. Hayden Panettiere has been in front of the camera since before she could talk. She roseto stardom typecasted as Hollywood's blonde girl next door. As a young celebrity,naysayers were certain she would crash and burn. Not one to disappoint, she did.Hayden Panettiere's irreverent memoir satisfies our...Paperback$3200Elsewhere:$3999Unit price /UnavailableIn StockShips tomorrow
Why buy from us?
Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!
Service & Delivery
Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.
Auckland Bookstore
We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.
Our Gifting Service
Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.
