‘A book should be an ice-axe to break the frozen sea within us’ Franz Kafka, a writer, wrote this in 1904 in a letter to a friend. I am intrigued with Kafka's metaphor: linking a book to an ice-axe that smashes frozen seas that lie within us. I see books, as does Kafka, as powerful- they take us on many journeys and through these journeys we change or our view of the world changes.
What books have been a powerful influence on you?
What books are you currently reading that incorporate the idea of a journey- either a journey within (the journey of the protagonist-the changes they undergo in the course of the novel) or a physical journey?
The woodcut below is by a Japanese artist Hokusai who created this in 1831. Click on the link above to read about the artist and the painting. When I was thinking about Kafka’s quote, it was this image that sprang to mind. Find the boat and think about the journey involved here! Is this representative of the journey the protagonist in your novel experiences? I certainly think it's symbolic of many of the journeys of heroes: small vulnerable boat (the protagonist) and terrifying, almost insurmountable dangers ( the wave) that almost overwhelm the hero. Faced with these dangers the hero continues with his quest, battling doubts within as well as the physical opposition from nature, monsters or other opponents.
