Contents

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter I
2. Contents VII
3. Acknowledgments XI
4. Introduction 1
5. 1. Bureaucratic Fanaticism 9
6. 2. A New Kind of Schwärmer: Kleist’s Michael Kohlhaas 35
7. 3. Architecture of the Office: Melville’s Bartleby 75
8. 4. Abstraction of the Earth: Conrad’s Heart of Darkness 102
9. 5. Poverty of Agency: Conrad’s The Secret Agent 130
10. 6. State of Embarrassment: Kafka’s In the Penal Colony 157
11. 7. Society of Security: Kafka’s The Metamorphosis 185
12. Epilogue: Guerrilla / Gardener Coetzee’s Life & Times of Michael K 219
13. Bibliography 245
14. Index 262