Length1h 21m
About this audiobook
"In the Penal Colony" is a short story by Franz Kafka written in German in October 1914, revised in November 1918, and first published in October 1919.
As in some of Kafka's other writings, the narrator in this story seems detached from, or perhaps numbed by, events that one would normally expect to be registered with horror. Internal clues and the setting on an island suggest Octave Mirbeau's The Torture Garden as an influence.
The story is set in an unnamed penal colony and describes the last use of an elaborate torture and execution device that carves the commandment that the condemned prisoner has transgressed on his skin as he slowly dies over the course of twelve hours. As the plot unfolds, the reader learns more and more about the machine, including its origin and original justification.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 4.1 (41.2K)
Includes Goodreads, LibraryThing, StoryGraph, Amazon
GenreEducation and Learning, Literary Classics
Length1 hr 21 mins
Narrated byMark Bowen
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateJan 30, 2025
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1In the Penal Colony - Intro
2In the Penal Colony
3In the Penal Colony (Continuation)
4In the Penal Colony - Outro
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