A new graphic biography (it’s actually a reprint newly released) of Franz Kafka, titled Kafka, features illustrations by Crumb (or R. Crumb, as he is usually styled) and text by Jewish author David Zane Mairowitz. Wow! Check it out at Amazon and do a “search inside”!

“What do I have in common with the Jews? I don’t even have anything in common with myself.” Nothing could better express the essence of Franz Kafka, a man described by his friends as living behind a “glass wall.”

Kafka wrote in the tradition of the great Yiddish storytellers, whose stock-in-trade was bizarre fantasy tainted with hilarity and self-abasement. What he added to this tradition was an almost unbearably expanded consciousness. Alienated from his roots, his family, his surroundings, and primarily from his own body, Kafka created a unique literary language in which to hide away, transforming himself into a cockroach, an ape, a dog, a mole or a circus artiste who starves himself to death in front of admiring crowds.

David Zane Mairowitz’s brilliant text and the illustrations and comic panels of the world’s greatest cartoonist, Robert Crumb (himself no stranger to self-loathing and alienation), help us to understand the essence of Kafka and provide insight beyond the cliché “Kafkaesque,” peering through Kafka’s glass wall like no other book before it. The book is a wonderful educational tool for those unfamiliar with Kafka, including a brief but inclusive biography as well as the plots of many of his works, all illustrated by Crumb, making this newly designed edition a must-have for admirers of both Kafka and Crumb.

I also had no idea that Robert Crumb several years ago had penned R. Crumb’s Kafka, and this must be the earlier version: “A graphic novel approach relating the life story of the troubled but brilliant Franz Kafka. Crumb illustrates the main biographical events and portions from some of Kafka’s most celebrated works. Mairowitz, who wrote the text, does not try to embellish his work, instead his comments are sparse and to the point , thus better allowing Kafka the classic writer, and Crumb a world class gifted illustrator, to shine.

Angels in the Architecture This is an amazing book by photographer Heidi Johnson chronicling the life and death of the Traverse City State Hospital (asylum) in Michigan. Told with the historical background and personal accounts of those who both lived and worked there layered over a backdrop of haunting photographs. Very moving and thought-provoking: the photographs alone will fill your imagination. The system of care proposed by Dr. Thomas Kirkbride is a fascinating study in and of itself. An entire architectural plan for care of the mentally ill that included exposure to the outdoors in a peaceful, calm environment and such tasks as gardening and tending to farm animals. It makes one wonder what would happen today if all of corporate America would combine their resources to renew and fund such a plan to house and care for those in today’s society who are the throwaways — the mentally ill with no support system. You likely won’t find this book in any bookstore, but as a fascinating read and just plain eye candy if you’re even vaguely interested in historical photography, I’d say it’s well worth the purchase. I came across all of this through the horror movie, Session 9, which was filmed and set in the Danvers asylum, another Kirkbride-planned institution. At the time I saw the movie, I was haunted by the notion of the people who lived and were treated there. A beautiful photographic essay of that institution is Abandoned Asylums of New England by John Gray, unfortunately no longer in print — also filled with eerie and moving photographs that seem to be filled with the spirits that inhabited the place.