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Language Arts & Disciplines Translating & Interpreting

Transforming Kafka

Translation Effects

by (author) Patrick O'Neill

Publisher
University of Toronto Press
Initial publish date
Nov 2014
Category
Translating & Interpreting, French, Eastern, German, General
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781442623804
    Publish Date
    Nov 2014
    List Price
    $58.00
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781442650428
    Publish Date
    Dec 2014
    List Price
    $65.00

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Description

Lyrical, mysterious, and laden with symbolism, Franz Kafka’s novels and stories have been translated into more than forty languages ranging from Icelandic to Japanese. In Transforming Kafka, Patrick O’Neill approaches these texts through the method he pioneered in Polyglot Joyce and Impossible Joyce, considering the many translations of each work as a single, multilingual “macrotext.”

Examining three novels – The Trial, The Castle, and America – and two short stories – “The Judgment” and “The Metamorphosis” – O’Neill offers comparative readings that consider both intertextual and intratextual themes. His innovative approach shows how comparing translations extends and expands the potential meanings of the text and reveals the subtle differences among the hundreds of translations of Kafka’s work. A sophisticated analysis of the ways in which translation shapes, rearranges, and expands our understanding of literary works, Transforming Kafka is a unique approach to reading the works of a literary giant.

About the author

Patrick O’Neill is a professor emeritus in the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures at Queen’s University.

Patrick O'Neill's profile page

Editorial Reviews

‘Transforming Kafka is a peculiarly original and rewarding introduction to the author’s corpus as well as to its transmutations beyond German. By deftly comparing opening paragraphs, titles, and proper names of five canonical texts in a range of translations, O’Neill elucidates prevailing themes and isolates pervasive ambiguities in Kafka.’

Canadian Literature issue number 226