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Franz Kafka, the Eternal Son: A Biography
Franz Kafka remains one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. His novels, stories, and letters are still regarded today as the epitome of the dark, fascinating, and uncanny, a model of the modernist aesthetic. Peter-André Alt’s landmark biography, Franz Kafka, the Eternal Son, recounts and explores Kafka’s life and literary work throughout the cultural and political upheavals of central Europe.
Alt’s biography explores Franz Kafka’s own view of life and writing as a unity that shaped his identity. He locates links and echoes among the author’s work, life, and surroundings, situating him within the traditions of Prague's German literature, modernity, psychoanalysis, and philosophy as well as within its Jewish culture, arts, theater, and intellectual tradition.
In this biographical tour de force, Kafka emerges as an observant flaneur and wistful loner, an anxious ascetic, an ecstatic and skeptic, a specialist in terror, and a master of irony. Alt masterfully illuminates Kafka's life not as source material but as a mirror of his literary genius. Readers begin to see Kafka’s unforgettable novels and stories as shards reflecting the life of their creator.
Alt’s biography explores Franz Kafka’s own view of life and writing as a unity that shaped his identity. He locates links and echoes among the author’s work, life, and surroundings, situating him within the traditions of Prague's German literature, modernity, psychoanalysis, and philosophy as well as within its Jewish culture, arts, theater, and intellectual tradition.
In this biographical tour de force, Kafka emerges as an observant flaneur and wistful loner, an anxious ascetic, an ecstatic and skeptic, a specialist in terror, and a master of irony. Alt masterfully illuminates Kafka's life not as source material but as a mirror of his literary genius. Readers begin to see Kafka’s unforgettable novels and stories as shards reflecting the life of their creator.
- GenresBiographyNonfiction
696 pages, Hardcover
First published August 22, 2005
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About the author
Peter-André Alt
46 books2 followersPeter-André Alt is a German literary scholar and President of the Free University of Berlin.
Alt was appointed as Professor of modern German literature at the University of Bochum in 1995, at the University of Würzburg in 2002, and at the Free University of Berlin in 2005. He was director of Dahlem Research School from 2008 to 2010. He has also been a visiting scholar at the University of Cambridge, Princeton University and several Italian universities.
On 12 May 2010 Alt was elected President of the Free University of Berlin. He became President of the German Schiller Society in July 2012.
He has published 16 books and a number of articles, focusing in his research on the early modern period, the Weimar Classicism and the modern classics.
Alt was appointed as Professor of modern German literature at the University of Bochum in 1995, at the University of Würzburg in 2002, and at the Free University of Berlin in 2005. He was director of Dahlem Research School from 2008 to 2010. He has also been a visiting scholar at the University of Cambridge, Princeton University and several Italian universities.
On 12 May 2010 Alt was elected President of the Free University of Berlin. He became President of the German Schiller Society in July 2012.
He has published 16 books and a number of articles, focusing in his research on the early modern period, the Weimar Classicism and the modern classics.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 20, 2021
Helped me with my school presentation in German and also has so many interesting facts about his life and relationship with his father. Also includes many interesting correspondences.
November 5, 2015
ich habe echt eine Ewigkeit für dieses Buch gebraucht weil es so lang ist...
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews