{"product_id":"is-that-kafka-99-finds","title":"Is that Kafka?: 99 Finds [Hardcover]","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBy Reiner Stach \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOut of the massive research for an authoritative 1,500-page biography emerges this wunderkammer of 99 delightfully odd facts about Kafka.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"If, like me, you are wary of delving into a three-volume account of the life of an ascetic and self-tormenting insurance lawyer, Stach has by some inexplicable thunderbolt of inspiration supplemented his enormous undertaking with a separate volume of biographical detritus, which he suggestively calls ‘counter-images’, titled\u003cem\u003e Is that Kafka? 99 Finds\u003c\/em\u003e.\"—Morten Høi Jensen,\u003cem\u003e Los Angeles Review of Books\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"A mishmash of ephemera, curiosities and confessionals, the finds range from the banal to the deeply personal, yet collectively paint as engaging and illustrative a portrait of the artist as any I’ve read.\"—Pasha Malla,\u003cem\u003e Globe and Mail\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\"Each turn Stach makes adds nuance to his skillfully collaged portrait of Kafka.\"—Evan James, \u003cem\u003eQuarterly Conversation\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the course of compiling his highly acclaimed three-volume biography of Kafka, while foraying to libraries and archives from Prague to Israel, Reiner Stach made one astounding discovery after another: unexpected photographs, inconsistencies in handwritten texts, excerpts from letters, and testimonies from Kafka’s contemporaries that shed surprising light on his personality and his writing. \u003cem\u003eIs that Kafka?\u003c\/em\u003e presents the crystal granules of the real Kafka: he couldn’t lie, but he tried to cheat on his high-school exams; bitten by the fitness fad, he avidly followed the regime of a Danish exercise guru; he drew beautifully; he loved beer; he read biographies voraciously; he made the most beautiful presents, especially for children; odd things made him cry or made him furious; he adored slapstick. Every discovery by Stach turns on its head the stereotypical version of the tortured neurotic―and as each one chips away at the monolithic dark Kafka, the keynote, of all things, becomes laughter.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor \u003cem\u003eIs that Kafka?\u003c\/em\u003e Stach has assembled 99 of his most exciting discoveries, culling the choicest, most entertaining bits, and adding his knowledge-able commentaries. Illustrated with dozens of previously unknown images, this volume is a singular literary pleasure.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHardcover\u003cbr\u003e352 pages\u003cbr\u003eNew Directions, 2016\u003cbr\u003e5.8 x 1.2 x 8.3 inches\u003cbr\u003eISBN 9780811221238\u003cbr\u003eBiography\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"vendor-unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":16661272773,"sku":"9780811221238","price":27.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0175\/8594\/products\/Is-that-Kafka_Reiner-Stach_hardcover.jpg?v=1591027628","url":"https:\/\/neue-galerie-design-shop.myshopify.com\/products\/is-that-kafka-99-finds","provider":"Neue Galerie Design Shop \u0026 Book Store","version":"1.0","type":"link"}