Reading Kafka in Prague - by Veronika Tuckerová (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

An untold history of Franz Kafka's reception in his homeland under two totalitarian regimes, from his death in 1924 tothe end of communism 1989.

In the first book-length study of the reception of Kafka in his homeland, Czechoslovakia, Veronika Tuckerová offers a contextualized understanding of the author by focusing on the period from his death to the end of the communist era in 1989. Using a broad comparative framework with a focus on translation and intercultural transmission, as well as archival materials and interviews with Czech intellectuals, Reading Kafka in Prague shows definitively how Kafka shaped the lives and perspective of his Czech readers, from one-time Communists to émigrés to dissidents, scholars, and artists.

Tuckerová tells the story of five distinct readings of Kafka's works in 20th-century Czech lands: The initial "triple ghetto" reception that survived the Second World War and the Communist takeover. The surrealist and existentialist embrace of Kafka by Czech artists, mediated by the French reception in the 1930s. The reformed-Marxist reception of Kafka as a critic of socialist alienation and totalitarianism that led to Kafka's rehabilitation at the 1963 Liblice conference. Official state reception "for export" that started in the late 1950s, reacting to the Western interest in Kafka's Prague. And finally, the dissident and underground reception of Kafka, which started in the 1950s and reached fruition in the years after the 1968 Soviet invasion.

This previously unknown story of Kafka in 20th-century Czechoslovakia offers 21st-century readers new insights into his oeuvre.

Review Quotes

Reading Kafka in Praguegives us a compelling account of the appropriations and re-appropriations of Franz Kafka's writings in Czech literature and society from the 1930s to the end of the Cold War. Tuckerová does far more than add to our knowledge of Kafka's legacy as a world author though, she also tells a fascinating story of Czechoslovakia's complex relationship with its German-speaking and modernist literary heritage across the 20th century.
Barry Murnane, Professor and Co-Director of the Oxford Kafka Research Center, University of Oxford, UK

Through an impressive array of sources drawn from Czech cultural and print history, secret police and court archives, recently unearthed correspondence, and direct interviews with participants, most of whom are now deceased, Tuckerová documents Kafka's full range and reach in his home country after his death.
Anne Jamison, Professor of English, The University of Utah, USA

About the Author

Veronika Tuckerová teaches Czech at Harvard University, USA. She is a native of Prague and studied at Prague's Charles University, The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and Columbia University where she received a PhD in German and Comparative Literature. She has published articles in journals such as New German Critique and Journal of World Literature, and translated from and to Czech, German, and English.