Franz Kafka – early 20th-century Austro-Hungarian writer, author of The Trial and The Castle, whose works became emblems of absurdity and alienation. He wrote in German in Prague while working at an insurance office. His friend Max Brod revealed his work to the world after his death.
📚 Kafka published only a few short stories in his lifetime; his major novels appeared posthumously. 🖋️ In his will he asked for his manuscripts to be burned, but Max Brod refused. 🏢 He worked at an insurance office, inspiring his depictions of bureaucracy. 🌍 German was his native language, though he lived in multilingual Prague. 📖 He is considered a founder of absurdist literature. 🐞 The Metamorphosis made “Kafkaesque” a cultural term. ✒️ He wrote at night, since his days were taken by office work. 📚 His diaries reveal constant struggles with self-doubt. 👥 He had a fraught relationship with his father, reflected in his Letter to His Father. 🪶 Enjoyed forest walks and a vegetarian diet. 😲 Curious: Kafka once read The Metamorphosis aloud to friends and laughed – while readers saw it as tragic. 😂 Funny: he once came to a party wearing a bird mask, startling guests and joking, “this is my second life.”