"Few writers have had as great an impact as Franz Kafka. Known for depicting alienation, frustration, and the victimization of the individual by impenetrable bureaucracies, his works have given rise to the term "Kafkaesque," which people use to describe similar situations in their own lives. Although his influence has been enormous and he has secured a lasting place in contemporary culture, his writings often are inscrutable, especially for readers approaching them for the first time. Designed for undergraduates, specialists, and general readers, this encyclopedia details his life and works." "Included are more than 800 alphabetically arranged entries on his works, characters, themes, family members, acquaintances, and other topics, such as: Abraham, absurd, animals, bureaucracy, colonialism, death, Don Quixote, Sigmund Freud, guilt, irony, Judaism, K., Thomas Mann, nihilism, and many more. Entries often cite works for further reading, and the encyclopedia closes with a selected, general bibliography."--BOOK JACKET.

A full-text searchable database of articles on individual critics and theorists, critical and theoretical schools and movements, and the critical and theoretical innovations of specific countries and historical periods. It also treats related persons and fields that have been shaped by or have themselves shaped literary theory and criticism. Each entry includes a selective primary and secondary bibliography.

Provides access to biographies, bibliographies, and critical analyses of authors from every age and literary discipline. Covers more than 120,000 novelists, poets, essayists, journalists, and other writers, with in-depth coverage of 2,500 of the most-studied authors.

Provides indexing, abstracts, and full text of scholarly overview articles in the Cambridge Companions to Literature and Classics and The Cambridge Companions to Philosophy, Religion and Culture.  These analyses of literature and related works are written by major scholars for student use.  This is a great place to start your reading, especially in the Cambridge Companion to Kafka.  Note also essays about Kafka in volumes on German literature.

Provides full-text and page images from many of the top journals in academic fields including literary studies. Coverage is from the inception of the journal through three to five years ago.

Provides citations to journal articles, books, working papers, conference proceedings, bibliographies, and other materials. Areas covered include literature, language, linguistics, film, theatre and folklore. Covers 1926-present.

Provides access to journals published by the Johns Hopkins University Press. Disciplines covered include the humanities with literary criticism well represented.

Provides citations and frequently full-text magazine and journal articles in a wide variety of disciplines, both scholarly and popular in scope. Covers 1971-present.