Kafka: A Graphic Novel Adaptation - Nishioka Kyoudai - ★★★

ADAPTERS & ILLUSTRATORS: Nishioka Kyoudai

ORIGINAL AUTHOR: Franz Kafka

TRANSLATOR: David Yang

GENRE: Graphic Novel, Surrealism, Classic.

RATING: 3 stars.

In a Nutshell: If you are a Kafka fan AND you also like darker graphics in the style of Junji Ito, this is for you.

This graphic novel, first published in Japanese in 2010, contains the manga adaptations of nine of Kafka’s stories. The specialty of the original is the macabre graphics by two siblings - brother Satoshi Nishioka and sister Chiaki Nishioka - who go by ‘Nishioka Kyoudai’, ‘kyoudai’ meaning ‘siblings’. This translation by David Yang, due to be published in October 2023, is the first ever translation of a Nishioka Kyoudai work in English.

Take a moment to consider how wild this is! Kafka’s novellas were originally written in German, and translated into English, which were then translated into Japanese manga, which are now translated back to English manga. I don’t envy David Yang his job. He had the tough task of retaining the essence of both the originals, and as far as I can tell, he has done a spectacular job of doing justice to both Kafka and Nishioka Kyoudai.

The Nishioka siblings also handle their charge well. Taking Kafka’s bizarre stories and putting them into graphics isn’t a cakewalk. Their doing so while retaining the essence of the original tales deserves applause. For instance, Kafka was very clear about not indicating what creature the protagonist turns into in ‘The Metamorphosis’; the manga version sticks to his specification. Imagine having a whole graphic novel story where you cannot see the protagonist and can still connect with what’s happening! The art is somewhat geometric throughout the novel, transcending colour and dimension to match the stories’ darker, psychological undertones. (One can’t really expect light and frothy when Kafka is at the helm of the tales.)

Most pages are in typical manga arrangement (right-to-left order) but some panels suddenly change the orientation of the text to landscape. When the whole page is horizontally oriented, it is still fine. But when only a couple of panels on a page change the direction of the text, the reading flow gets affected, especially when you are reading this digitally. This was the only negative of the manga adaptation.

So full marks to the translation and high marks to the manga. It should now be obvious that the cause of my lower rating is the main man, Kafka himself. Let me put it this way: Kafka didn’t fail me; I failed him.

Kafka’s ‘The Metamorphosis’, his only novella that I have read to date, is probably the only surreal story that I have *liked* in my entire life. I had wanted to try some more of his works, so when this manga version came my way, I decided to pick this up as a reading experiment. I should have known better!

I have never been fond of surrealism as a genre, and Kafka went beyond all my expectations to prove that his brain was in a different realm altogether. I tried my best but most of his stories bounced off my brain like a rubber ball. As someone who loves logic and treasures common sense, I was a misfit for his whimsical writing that crosses into not just the bizarre but also the gory. (Thank heavens for the B&W illustrations that reduced the impact of the grislier scenes!)

After the third story, I kept Google open in my browser so that I could read online analyses of the work after reaching my own measly conclusions for each tale. In many cases, my interpretation and the “expert” opinions online were not even close. (Shows you how smart I am at metaphysical deciphering! 😛)

Here’s a brief review of each of the nine stories, offering further proof of the above claim:

1. The Concerns of a Patriarch: Sorry, but I understood exactly 0% of this story. Even Google wasn’t able to help! – No stars.

2. The Metamorphosis: True to the original in content and spirit. Loved this the best! - 4.5 stars.

3. The Bucket Knight: An interesting tale, weird but still impactful. I understood the metaphor in this story on my own. *patting myself on the back!* - 3.5 stars.

4. Jackals and Arabs: Not at all my kind of story. I think this is quite outdated and stereotypical if seen with modern eyes. But the metaphors are sensible if viewed with Kafkaesque glasses on your nose. - 2 stars.

5. The Fratricide: A brilliant story that let me down by the abrupt ending. I would have loved to have some more explanation. Was gripping otherwise. – 3.5 stars.

6. The Vulture: Yuck! Blood Overflow Alert! - No stars.

7. A Country Doctor: I am so lost, trying to figure out where this began and where it ended and the connection between the two. One of the oddest plot progressions I have ever read! - No stars.

8. A Hunger Artist: I never knew that there were actually performers called ‘hunger artists’. The world is sometimes as bizarre as Kafka’s mind. Has some merits, but again, not my cup of tea. - 2.5 stars.

9. In the Penal Colony: Yuck, yuck, yuck! Too much gore! - No stars.

I am not going to average out the ratings as I usually do, because (1) this isn’t a typical anthology; (2) rating just the stories while ignoring the graphics and the translator’s appreciable efforts won’t be fair; and (3) those who like surreal or grisly works will surely experience the tales differently than I did.

You might appreciate these stories better if you are a fan of the genre or possibly, if you have enjoyed the original stories and want to experience them through a different format. This book is certainly not for everyone, and in all honesty, it wasn’t for me at all. I leave this with a midway rating, as it is a case of a reader-book mismatch than a shortcoming of the book itself.

But I must add this: I honestly feel that this manga represents Kafka's work in a way that would have made him proud, as it truly makes you delve into the darkest corners of your mind as you attempt to find glimmers of meaning from almost random occurrences.

My thanks to Pushkin Press and Edelweiss+ for the DRC of “Kafka: A Graphic Novel Adaptation”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.