Kafka was the Rage

Anatole Broyard's killer memoir. This book was pretty awesome to be honest. I loved the allusions to music, passion, love and literature. Famously called "A Hemmingway-esque portrait of Bohemia" (I forget who said it!) this book is a MUST for reading about everything you thought was very 40s. 

Fact: If you were paying any attention, especially those of you who went up to Cumbria with me in April - you would've noticed that I was reading Kafka was the Rage all the way there. Finishing it in the space of a few hours...What a brilliant novella - a short and sweet memoir of existential nightmares.

Fact 2.0: I found this book whilst browsing on David Bowie's reading list - this came up quite early on...


Characters:

My favourite character is the narrator themselves. As this is a "memoir" - I shall refer to this person as Broyard. Broyard and his 40s lifestyle come under siege by psychotic girlfriends (and I mean psychotic), musical passion, literature love and avant-garde recreational underwhelming sexual encounters. This is because our witty and sarcastic narrator cannot yet come to terms with his own personality and new (and less exciting) friends; as everything around him burns in the colours of decadence. 

Themes: 

Oh! The best theme in this is probably the allusions to literature. Even the title "Kafka was the Rage" is a literary allusion - almost making Kafka seem like some kind of immortal rockstar. Mentioning things like The Metamorphosis and the Trial. This book is almost a psychological metamorphosis of character for Broyard and this is why we love the book. 

Storyline: 

As a memoir - this book covers all the necessary emotive structures that we require to become empathetic towards Broyard. A masterpiece of a book - it interweaves this with friends getting terminally ill, lifeless sex and focusses on what next? A brilliant read start to finish - I seriously recommend this book for anyone looking for a short read. 

Verdict:

I give this book 9. 

100% for characters: I really felt for Broyard, especially after his friend became terminally ill.

100% for themes: You'll kick yourself when you understand how the title fits into the book! 

100% for storyline: A memoir centred around psycho-girlfriend-sex-drama-with-critical-literature-genius-acting-pretentious-but-secretly-having-existential-crisis? Yeah, I'm sold.