Research Catalog

Title

Kafka's son / Szilárd Borbély ; translated by Ottilie Mulzet.

Author

Borbély, Szilárd, 1964-2014

Publication

• London ; New York : Seagull Books, 2023.
• ©2023

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

Mulzet, Ottilie

Description

vii, 173 pages : illustrations, map; 24 cm.

Summary

"Born in 1963, Szilárd Borbély emerged as one of the most important poets of post-communist Europe, exploring the themes of grief, memory, and trauma in his critically acclaimed work. Following the murder of his mother during a burglary in 2000, and the subsequent breakdown and death of his father, Borbély suffered from post-traumatic depression and tragically ended his own life in 2014. Among the manuscripts that Borbély left behind was Kafka's Son, a fragmentary work, rendered still more fragmented through the author's death. Through a series of haunting passages that explore early twentieth-century Prague, including the ruins of the ancient Jewish ghetto during the time of its demolition, Borbély inscribes the story of Franz Kafka and his father onto the city. We are used to hearing from Franz; here Hermann Kafka is also given a voice. "The son," he tells us, "is the life of the father. The father is the death of the son." By extension, then, this book is also an indirect telling of the story of Borbély and his father, and about sons and fathers in the Habsburg empire and the culture of brutality that defined Eastern Europe. A posthumously published Hungarian masterpiece, Kafka's Son now appears in English in award-winning translator Ottilie Mulzet's sensitive translation, a fragmentary yet iridescent work inviting us to reflect on our fragmented lives." -- Amazon

Series Statement

The Hungarian list

Uniform Title

• Kafka fia. English
• Hungarian list.

Alternative Title

Kafka fia.

Subject

• Kafka, Franz, 1883-1924 > Fiction
• Kafka, Franz, 1883-1924
• 1900-1999
• Fathers and sons > Fiction
• Family members
• Fathers
• Sons
• Fathers and sons
• Prague (Czech Republic) > History > 20th century > Fiction
• Europe, Eastern > History > 20th century > Fiction
• Czech Republic > Prague
• Eastern Europe

Genre/Form

• Biographical fiction.
• Historical fiction.
• Domestic fiction.
• Novels.
• History.
• Fiction.

Note

• "Originally published in Hungarian as 'Kafka fia' © Suhrkamp Verlag Berlin, 2017"--Title page verso.

Call Number

JFE 24-1162

ISBN

• 9781803092683
• 1803092688

OCLC

1402276408

Author

Borbély, Szilárd, 1964-2014, author.

Title

Kafka's son / Szilárd Borbély ; translated by Ottilie Mulzet.

Publisher

London ; New York : Seagull Books, 2023.

Copyright Date

©2023

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Series

The Hungarian list

Hungarian list.

Chronological Term

1900-1999

Added Author

Mulzet, Ottilie, translator.

Research Call Number

JFE 24-1162