The Hunter Gracchus
Encyclopedia
The Hunter Gracchus is a short story written by Franz Kafka
.
The story presents a death boat carrying the long dead Hunter Gracchus as it arrives at a port. The Burgomaster of Riva enters the boat and inside he meets Gracchus who gives him an account of his death while hunting and how he is destined to wander aimlessly and eternally over the seas. An additional fragment presents an extended dialogue between Gracchus and an unnamed interviewer, supposedly the same Burgomaster.
Written in the first half of 1917, the story was published posthumously in Beim Bau der Chinesischen Mauer (Berlin
, 1931). The first English translation appears in The Great Wall of China. Stories and Reflections (New York
: Schocken Books
, 1946. Translated by Willa and Edwin Muir
). The story and fragment both
appear in The Complete Stories
.
In a diary entry from 6 April 1917 Kafka describes a strange boat standing at port which he is told belongs to the Hunter Gracchus.
Kafka's short story is paraphrased in, and its content interwoven into, the novel Vertigo by W G Sebald.
Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka was a culturally influential German-language author of short stories and novels. Contemporary critics and academics, including Vladimir Nabokov, regard Kafka as one of the best writers of the 20th century...
.
The story presents a death boat carrying the long dead Hunter Gracchus as it arrives at a port. The Burgomaster of Riva enters the boat and inside he meets Gracchus who gives him an account of his death while hunting and how he is destined to wander aimlessly and eternally over the seas. An additional fragment presents an extended dialogue between Gracchus and an unnamed interviewer, supposedly the same Burgomaster.
Written in the first half of 1917, the story was published posthumously in Beim Bau der Chinesischen Mauer (Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, 1931). The first English translation appears in The Great Wall of China. Stories and Reflections (New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
: Schocken Books
Schocken Books
Schocken Books is a publishing company that was established in Berlin with a publishing office in Prague in 1931 by the Schocken Department Store owner Salman Schocken. It published the writings of Martin Buber, Franz Rosenzweig, Franz Kafka and S. Y...
, 1946. Translated by Willa and Edwin Muir
Edwin Muir
Edwin Muir was an Orcadian poet, novelist and translator born on a farm in Deerness on the Orkney Islands. He was remembered for his deeply felt and vivid poetry in plain language with few stylistic preoccupations....
). The story and fragment both
appear in The Complete Stories
The Complete Stories of Franz Kafka
The Complete Stories of Franz Kafka is a compilation of all Kafka's short stories. With the exception of Kafka's three novels , this collection includes all of Kafka's narrative work. The book was originally edited by Nahum N. Glatzer and published by Schocken Books in 1971...
.
In a diary entry from 6 April 1917 Kafka describes a strange boat standing at port which he is told belongs to the Hunter Gracchus.
Kafka's short story is paraphrased in, and its content interwoven into, the novel Vertigo by W G Sebald.