Kafka

The series Kafka is best approached with a sense of perspective. It is neither a classic biography nor a straightforward adaptation. After all, Reiner Stach did not dedicate just one volume to Kafka. Few members of the Prager Kreis achieved as much notoriety as Kafka, and few writers are as notoriously well-known. Yet, the image that the general public has of Kafka is quite vague. Every fragment of his texts has been analyzed, and he even has a "profile on FilmBooster." However, it is somewhat overlooked that Kafka, as a German-speaking Jewish writer from Prague, represents such a specific group that it is crucial to constantly explain his world rather than just him as an individual. When Lenka Reinerová passed away, the last living witness was gone. But when Kafka died, the Prager Kreis still had 15 years ahead of itself. This series is a wonderful gift for anyone who can distinguish between his life and work without assistance, who can navigate the map of Germania Slavica, and who enjoys encountering new German talents, among which David Kross and Liv Lisa Fries undoubtedly belong. (08/08/2024)