In the Penal ColonyFranz Kafka
In the Penal Colony
by Franz Kafka · first published 2018
17mentions
9recommended by
15HN commenters
2012–2025first – last mentioned
60% recommend40% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Short, unsettling story often recommended as a first taste of Kafka's strange style; readers say it is brief, readable, and stays with them for years. Suits anyone curious about Kafka beyond The Metamorphosis.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
Related books
2009–2024A Hunger Artist
Franz Kafka
Recommended by 3 · mentioned by 63 recommend · 6 mention3 recommend · 63 recommend
2008–2026The Trial
Franz Kafka
Recommended by 37 · mentioned by 13237 recommend · 132 mention37 recommend · 13237 recommend
2009–2026Metamorphosis
Franz Kafka
Recommended by 22 · mentioned by 6622 recommend · 66 mention22 recommend · 6622 recommend
…Orwellian) but more because it pushes away his short stories and aphorisms, which I think are much, much better than his longer works – and more mystical and mysterious in nature. I'd take A Hunger Artist, In the Penal Colony, or some of the aphorisms from the Zürau book over his more famous works any day. It's unfortunate that writers tend to be known for a single "brand" which causes off-brand works to be pushed to the…
on “Franz Kafka Was a Health Insurance Administrator” ↗Reminds me of a short story written in 1914 by Franz Kafka called "In the Penal Colony"[1]. It's very much worth a read, an English translation is available at [2]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Penal_Colony [2] http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/kafka/inthepenalcolony.htm SPOILER:…
on “Artificial Killing Machine” ↗…Nikolai Gogol - Short stories by Guy de Maupassant - Most of John Steinbeck's works - *Lord of the Flies* by William Golding - *The Great Gatsby* F. Scott Fitzgerald Also, if you're reading Kafka, In the Penal Colony is a short story I enjoyed that I don't see mentioned much.
on “Ask HN: classic literature recommendations?” ↗Anyone interested in an extension of this thought by Catherine should read Kafka's "In the Penal Colony": https://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/kafka/inthepenalcolony.htm
on ““I Write on Human Skin”: Catherine the Great and the Rule of Law” ↗Those are two of my favorites also, especially "In the Penal Colony." For anyone looking for more, I would add "The Burrow" as great introduction to the weirdness of Kafka as well.
on “Kafka: The Rescue Will Begin in Its Own Time” ↗In the Penal Colony is a good one. His most widely known story is probably The Metamorphosis. He has a lot of short works you can get through in under 10 minutes. "A Message from the Emperor", for instance.
on “Kafka: the Impossible Biography” ↗Try his short stories, especially A Hunger Artist, A Message from the Emperor, and In the Penal Colony.
on “How to read Kafka: part I” ↗In the penal colony. I read all those you mention and more at university. They still stick with me as books I'm very happy to have read, but never want to read again.
on “Ask HN: Which are the most damaging books you've read?” ↗In the Penal Colony is brilliant. I read it when young and many years later cannot forget it. http://www.arts.uwaterloo.ca/~raha/793CA_web/PenalColony.pdf
on “Kafka: The Rescue Will Begin in Its Own Time” ↗While "In the Penal Colony" actually is really funny and readable, I don't think much humor could have been lost.
on “Kafka’s Trials” ↗Did you write that? It's reminiscent of Kafka's In the Penal Colony.
on “Facebook and Speech” ↗Finally the machine from Franz Kafka's "In the Penal Colony" is possible:-) Joking aside I find this highly fascinating. Especially since (apart from applications like the one in Kafka's story) the results from a good printer are probably practically indistinguishable…
on “Show HN: I built four eight-foot-long handwriting robots” ↗Related: Franz Kafka's In the Penal Colony. Probably the ur-example of the plotter-error trope.
on “Building a DIY Pen Plotter” ↗A system optimized for writing could also describe the machine in Kafka's "In the Penal Colony".
on “Why was Apache Kafka created?” ↗For anyone that doesn’t quite ‘get’ Kafka: I recommend his short stories and aphorisms over his novels. Metamorphosis and The Castle never quite did much for me, whereas The Great Wall of China or In the Penal Colony are some of my favorites.
on “Kafka: The Rescue Will Begin in Its Own Time” ↗