Burhan Sönmez: Lovers of Franz K., Gebunden

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An inventive literary obituary for Kafka, this thriller of love and revenge brings the Cold War to life, from Paris and Istanbul to West Berlin and Tel Aviv.

While the youth uprising sweeps across Europe, a debate about Franz Kafka appears in student magazines, arguing that publishing the texts Kafka left behind against his will is unfaithful to his legacy, and asking, “Should Max Brod Pay the Price?” They believe that Kafka’s best friend, Brod, is the one who violated his will by publishing his books. After Brod is injured in an attempted assassination, assailant Ferdy Kaplan is captured and questioned by Commissioner Müller at the West Berlin police station. As his interrogation progresses, through dialogues in the police station, the courtroom, and the prison, Kaplan’s background is revealed piece by piece, from the love story between him and his childhood friend Amalya, to their shared passion for Kafka, which leads them to join a radical group. But when a shocking discovery is made about the person who ultimately set Brod’s attempted murder in motion, Kaplan and Müller agree to work together to expose the truth.

In this gripping, thought-provoking tribute to Kafka, Burhan Sönmez vividly recreates a key period of history in the 1960s, when the Berlin Wall divided Europe, and women were fighting for freedom and against tradition, adopting Jean Seberg’s iconic short haircut from Breathless. More than a typical mystery, Lovers of Franz K. is a brilliant exploration of the value of books, and the issues of anti-Semitism, immigration, and violence that recur in Kafka’s life and writings.