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Letters to Kafka

By Christine Estima

Letters to Kafka

By Christine Estima

0 - Default Title
Description
A CBC Best Book of 2025 A sweeping, tragic romance and feminist adventure about translator and resistance fighter Milena Jesenská's torrid love affair with Franz Kafka. In 1919, Milena Jesenská, a clever and spirited twenty-three-year-old, is trapped in an unhappy marriage to literary critic Ernst Pollak. Since Pollak is unable to support the pair in Vienna's post-war economy, Jesenská must supplement their income by working as a translator. Having previously met her compatriot Franz Kafka in the literary salons of Prague, she writes to him to ask for permission to translate his story "The Stoker" from German to Czech, becoming Kafka's first translator. The letter launches an intense and increasingly passionate correspondence. Jesenská is captivated by Kafka's energy, intensity, and burning ambition to write. Kafka is fascinated by Jesenská's wit, rebellious spirit, and intelligence. Jesenská and Kafka meet twice for lovers' trysts, but can such an intense connection endure beyond a fleeting affair? In her remarkable debut novel, Christine Estima weaves little-known facts and fiction into a rich tapestry, powerfully portraying the struggles of a woman forced to choose between the roles of wife, lover, and intellectual.
Product details
Binding:
Paperback
Number of Pages:
384
Release Date:
2025-09-09
Publication Date:
2025-09-09
Publisher:
House of Anansi Press
Languages:
Original: English
ISBN10:
1487013310
ISBN13:
9781487013318
GPSR Manufacturer Reference:
[email protected]
Weight:
408 g
Height:
131 cm
Width:
201 cm
Thickness:
24 cm
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