“I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound or stab us. If the book we’re reading doesn’t wake us up with a blow to the head, what are we reading for? So that it will make us happy, as you write? Good Lord, we would be happy precisely if we had no books, and the kind of books that make us happy are the kind we could write ourselves if we had to. But we need books that affect us like a disaster, that grieve us deeply, like the death of someone we loved more than ourselves, like being banished into forests far from everyone, like a suicide. A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us. That is my belief.” —Franz Kafka
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Comments
Well, it’s not a surprise! your post reminded me of a time over 20 years ago when I was at the doctors for an injection and the nurse saw me reading Kafka and she said “you must be the fainting kind”.
Thats hilarious, Andy! That makes me want to start bringing Kafka to all sorts of places.
I could not agree more – unbelievable. I’m putting this on my blog, thank you.
Do it! Thanks for the comment.
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