Give It Up! And Other Short Stories
Kafka, F.
Illustrated by: Kuper, P.
1995
New York: ComicsLit
Age Range: 16+
Genre: Comics; Graphic Novel
Rating: 4/5



Award-winning artist Peter Kuper interprets nine of Kafka's short stories in bold, rich and beautiful black and white graphics. Kafka's wit, cynicism, sarcasm and insight into human nature are cleverly depicted in snapshot form. Not everything is said, not everything is known, but everything fits together perfectly.

A collection for the young adult literary critic, the introspect, the "thinker;" this is perhaps not a drastically popular title for adolescents, but the quality of the work makes this a great choice.

For merging Kafka with stark black and white art, and more importantly for doing it well, Kuper gets my nod. Kafka has a decidedly young adult perspective of the world, and the marriage of his words with amazing art makes this comic accessible, effective and downright cool for young adults to read!