The Kafka Effekt

by D. Harlan Wilson

The Kafka Effekt is D. Harlan Wilson's debut book, a collection of forty-four short stories loosely written in the vein of Franz Kafka, with more than a pinch of William S. Burroughs sprinkled on top. A manic depressive has a baby's bottom grafted onto his face; a hermaphrodite impregnates itself and gives birth to twins; a gaggle of professors find themselves trapped in a port-a-john and struggle to liberate their minds from the prison of reason-these...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0971357218
• ISBN13: 9780971357211
• Release Date: November 2001
• Publisher: Eraserhead Press
• Length: 216 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.6" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

A Contemporary Kafka

Wilson's imagination far surpasses almost every living author in print. His stories are as entertaining as they are smart, as surreal as they are socially accurate. The absurd ideas and strange situations are so mind-boggling and fun that you'll want to start this book over again as soon as you've finished. There's not an author since Russell Edson who compels this in me. Just buy everything written by this guy. You won't be disappointed! . . . unless you happen to be the Jesus freak a couple posts below who is the only person who gave a negative review. If you happen to be close-minded, as most Jesus freaks are, you're just not going to get Wilson. Also, I'd like to point out that if you are expecting a Kafka-clone you're not going to find it here. This guy is very fresh and very unique. I'm sure the only reason why this book is called The Kafka Effekt is because the author was very inspired by Kafka or perhaps Kafka is the only other author out there that readers can compare Wilson to. But whereas Kafka is classical and bleak, Wilson is colorful, upbeat, funny as hell, and extremely modern. And far less subtle with his wild displays of surrealism and the absurd. Which makes for a more enjoyable read than your regular Kafka-clone who thinks they are writing for an early 1900s audience.Also, his second collection, "Stranger on the Loose," is just as good if not even better than the Kafka Effekt. I recommend getting them both before you are eaten by a giant hors d'oeuvres.

Absurd Masterpieces

D. Harlan Wilson has built a strange body of work. For most emerging writers that statement might be a kiss of death, but not for him. Wilson's intelligence and a razor wit separate his writing from the ignorant vulgarity that too often passes for originality in today's liturature. In his short story collection, The Kafka Effekt, strangeness becomes a weapon.These stories are masterpieces of the absurd, both darkly funny and tragic. Wilson leads his readers through a surreal world with each one. And though he is far from the first author to do that, Wilson's skill in maintaining the delicate balance between chaos and meaning is what makes his writing enjoyable.In every bizarre step along the 44 stories in this book, the reader collects a treasure: a nugget of understanding, a flash of empathy, or even a sense of familiarity with the often nigthmarish universe of Wilson's characters. Profound without being didactic and expertly blending jaded humor with a sobering vision of the future, The Kafka Effekt is well worth a few bad dreams and skipped meals. It is strange in the best possible way.

Top Notch Speculative Fiction

This is great collection of stories. Intelligent, weird, comical and crafty. Like Kafka, Wilson's writing style is simplistic and pragmatic, but there's a lot going on beneath the surface. And it's funny. I laughed out loud from the beginning to the end of this book. I've never read anything quite like it. If you want to learn to laugh at and rethink yourself and the world you live in, check it out.

The Horrors of Mundane Life

You will encounter contradictions, illogical situtations and unnecessary roughness should you decide to test the limits of the Kafka Effekt. I personally know at least one person who has become obsessed with this work and does nothing at all without first consulting this enigmatic, yet prophetic text. This collection of mind-bending short stories is in the absurdist and surrealist tradition. Take for instance the tragic account of Hogan Marsupial, a very serious man who tries to become a comedian. Also meet Dr. Thunderlove a pediatrician whose eyes are on stalks like a lobster and says to his fearful patients, "If you can't handle my eyeballs right now, when you grow up-how do you expect to handle the real world?"Wilson is a master of exposing the horrors of mundane life. From the fear of public urination to the frustrations of simply trying to communicate with another person Wilson's odd tales are discomforting more from their familiarity than thier strangeness.

absurd and irreal writings

this is another fine example of the quality and type of material people run from like the plague but eraserheadpress.com has no qualms about releasing. many of these stories have their origins in wilson's out of print chapbook 'kafka breathing sock puppets'(a reference to 'supercalafraglisitc city', the last story in both this novel and the chapbook). to me this is relaxing to read, good exercise for the mind. highly recommended to those who have a shred of intelligence