Blumfeld, an older bachelor and other stories

36 short stories by Franz Kafka, including previously unpublished works, translated directly from German by award-winning translator and writer Marcelo Backes

Blumfeld, an Older Bachelor and Other Stories is an anthology of Franz Kafka's heroes organized and translated directly from German by award-winning translator and writer Marcelo Backes, who also wrote the afterword.

In addition to the best-known narratives in Brazil—such as Josefine , the Singer and The Hunger Artist —readers will find texts by Franz Kafka previously unpublished in Brazil—such as The Cryptkeeper , the only drama he ever wrote. These texts are marked by their proximity to strangeness, failure, and what is considered minor or unimportant. This is unconscionable and confirms the observation of philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari regarding the work of the author of The Metamorphosis and The Trial , which would have "[...] the capacity to express another potential community, to forge the means of another consciousness and another sensibility."

The characters don't find themselves in the oppressive position of power. Even those who achieve great feats are made important by their own failure—like the Olympic swimming record holder who can't swim, or the mythical Ulysses, who bravely throws himself at the sirens, bound by chains, with his ears plugged with wax, unable even to perceive that they pose no danger, as they feel no need to seduce him.

When translating, Marcelo Backes is not fooled by the silence of the sirens and seeks to re-establish Franz Kafka's choices in an original way, in our language, so that it is possible, as indicated in the note to the edition, to take the reader to the translated work, and not to transport it, with its edges trimmed, to meet the reader.