Description
A posthumously published Hungarian masterpiece that reflects on fragmented lives.
Born in 1963, Szilard Borbely 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, Borbely suffered from post-traumatic depression and tragically ended his own life in 2014.
Among the manuscripts that Borbely 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, Borbely 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 Borbely 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.
About the Author
Szilard Borbely was an authority on Hungarian literature of the late Baroque period as well as a writer and was widely considered to be one of the most important European poets of the post-Communist period. Ottilie Mulzet was awarded the National Book Award for Translated Literature for her translation of Laszlo Krasznahorkai's Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming in 2019.
Reviews
"Kafka's tortured relationship with his father is well known to the author's readers, but Borbely adds to the lore by exploring the limits of how much anyone can understand another, whether a father and son, or a reader and writer, as Mulzet suggests in an illuminating afterword about Borbely's long-held identification with Kafka. Kafka fans will enjoy this." * Publishers Weekly *
Book Information
ISBN 9781803092683
Author Szilard Borbely
Format Hardback
Page Count 184
Imprint Seagull Books London Ltd
Publisher Seagull Books London Ltd
Weight(grams) 399g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 20mm
Born in 1963, Szilard Borbely 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, Borbely suffered from post-traumatic depression and tragically ended his own life in 2014.
Among the manuscripts that Borbely 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, Borbely 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 Borbely 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.
About the Author
Szilard Borbely was an authority on Hungarian literature of the late Baroque period as well as a writer and was widely considered to be one of the most important European poets of the post-Communist period. Ottilie Mulzet was awarded the National Book Award for Translated Literature for her translation of Laszlo Krasznahorkai's Baron Wenckheim's Homecoming in 2019.
Reviews
"Kafka's tortured relationship with his father is well known to the author's readers, but Borbely adds to the lore by exploring the limits of how much anyone can understand another, whether a father and son, or a reader and writer, as Mulzet suggests in an illuminating afterword about Borbely's long-held identification with Kafka. Kafka fans will enjoy this." * Publishers Weekly *
Book Information
ISBN 9781803092683
Author Szilard Borbely
Format Hardback
Page Count 184
Imprint Seagull Books London Ltd
Publisher Seagull Books London Ltd
Weight(grams) 399g
Dimensions(mm) 229mm * 152mm * 20mm
