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Kafka's Son
Set in New York City and Prague in 1992, Kafka’s Son follows a first-person narrator who is a documentary filmmaker. In a New York synagogue, he meets an elderly Czech Jew named Jiri, once the head of the famous Jewish Museum in Prague, with whom he discovers a shared love of Kafka. Inspired by this friendship, the narrator travels to Prague to make a film about Jewish life in the city and its Kafka connections.
In his search for answers, he crosses paths with the beadle of the famous 900-year-old Altneushul synagogue, the rumored home to a legendary golem hidden away in a secret attic—which may or may not exist; a mysterious man who may or may not be Kafka’s son—and who may or may not exist; Mr. Klein, who although several years younger than Jiri may or may not be his father; and an enigmatic young woman in a blue beret—who is almost certainly real.
Maybe.
As Prague itself becomes as perplexing and unpredictable as its transient inhabitants, Curt Leviant unfolds a labyrinthine tale that is both detective novel and love story, captivating maze and realistic fantasy, and a one hundred percent stunning tribute to Kafka and his city.
In his search for answers, he crosses paths with the beadle of the famous 900-year-old Altneushul synagogue, the rumored home to a legendary golem hidden away in a secret attic—which may or may not exist; a mysterious man who may or may not be Kafka’s son—and who may or may not exist; Mr. Klein, who although several years younger than Jiri may or may not be his father; and an enigmatic young woman in a blue beret—who is almost certainly real.
Maybe.
As Prague itself becomes as perplexing and unpredictable as its transient inhabitants, Curt Leviant unfolds a labyrinthine tale that is both detective novel and love story, captivating maze and realistic fantasy, and a one hundred percent stunning tribute to Kafka and his city.
- GenresJewishMagical Realism
416 pages, Paperback
First published February 9, 2016
49 people want to read
About the author
Curt Leviant
45 books4 followersCurt Leviant (born 1932, Vienna) is a retired Jewish Studies professor, as well as a novelist and translator.
He came to the United States in 1938. His 1957 master's thesis was on Lamed Shapiro. 1966 doctoral thesis was a translation with commentary, published in 1969 as King Artur: A Hebrew Authurian Romance of 1279.
Leviant was also a book reviewer, usually of Jewish authors, with reviews appearing in The New York Times, The Nation, and other publications, especially Jewish media. In more recent years, he has been, co-authoring with his wife, a Jewish travel writer.
According to Lewis Fried, "his fiction is nuanced, surprising, and often arabesque, dealing with the demands of the present and the claims of the past."
His parents were Jacques and Fenia Leviant. They spoke Yiddish at home, and encouraged their son's interest in Yiddish literature and theater. He married Erika Leah Pfeifer, they had three daughters, Dalya, Dvora, Shulamit.
His degrees[6] are a BA from CUNY (Brooklyn), an MA from Columbia, and a PhD from Rutgers, where he taught Hebraic studies from 1960.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curt_Le...
He came to the United States in 1938. His 1957 master's thesis was on Lamed Shapiro. 1966 doctoral thesis was a translation with commentary, published in 1969 as King Artur: A Hebrew Authurian Romance of 1279.
Leviant was also a book reviewer, usually of Jewish authors, with reviews appearing in The New York Times, The Nation, and other publications, especially Jewish media. In more recent years, he has been, co-authoring with his wife, a Jewish travel writer.
According to Lewis Fried, "his fiction is nuanced, surprising, and often arabesque, dealing with the demands of the present and the claims of the past."
His parents were Jacques and Fenia Leviant. They spoke Yiddish at home, and encouraged their son's interest in Yiddish literature and theater. He married Erika Leah Pfeifer, they had three daughters, Dalya, Dvora, Shulamit.
His degrees[6] are a BA from CUNY (Brooklyn), an MA from Columbia, and a PhD from Rutgers, where he taught Hebraic studies from 1960.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curt_Le...
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 29, 2016
I happened upon this book by accident at the library. I'd been looking at the shelves of new science fiction, and turned around to find this book one of the shelves of new fiction behind me. The author's name sounded vaguely familiar (and with good reason. Turns out he taught at my alma mater, though I never had him as a teacher), and the title and front cover flap caught my interest. I don't normally read magical realism, maybe because it often moves at a slower pace than the science fiction and fantasy I usually go for. So it may have been me and not the book that was at issue here. I did read to the end, and the ending of the main story managed to be both surprising and fitting, but I could easily have put it down and walked away. This book gets bonus points for having seven beginnings, and having a sense of magic while also being very Jewish. Synagogues and Judaism - and the idea of the golem, of course - played a central role in the story. The way the characters communicated with each other was also fascinating and often unique. The stuff that comes after the ending of the main story, and the occasional references to the author himself, I could have done without. Plus, as I already mentioned, the story felt slow to me, especially at the beginning. However, it also had a beauty to it, and a uniqueness that I appreciated. It didn't hurt that I visited Prague last summer, so I could see so many of the places mentioned in the book - Old Town Square, the Altneu Shul, etc. - extra clearly, and that the Jewish elements and the fantastical elements mixed in a way that worked so well.
November 15, 2018
Hilarious, surreal, and a perfect addition to the list of books that I really enjoyed reading.
My favorite interactions were between the narrator and a character that spoke in a creative form of broken English, where parts of words were replaced with synonyms. For example, she really didn't want to get in a "relationboat" with him. When he started to take on her way of speaking, their conversations were hilarious and full of surprisingly funny hidden jokes. So good!
Being a fan of Kafka, it made the book more enjoyable -- in being aware of how stories like The Trial, The Castle, and The Penal Colony were done.
A strange, fun journey. Would easily recommend.
My favorite interactions were between the narrator and a character that spoke in a creative form of broken English, where parts of words were replaced with synonyms. For example, she really didn't want to get in a "relationboat" with him. When he started to take on her way of speaking, their conversations were hilarious and full of surprisingly funny hidden jokes. So good!
Being a fan of Kafka, it made the book more enjoyable -- in being aware of how stories like The Trial, The Castle, and The Penal Colony were done.
A strange, fun journey. Would easily recommend.
June 19, 2024
I really enjoyed this book, so clever and moving. Ending is fantastic. The only part that I didn't like so much, was the constant story about the narrator making a video of the situation, but any annoyance from this was cancelled out by the good parts in this book, and there are many.
November 16, 2019
A highly entertaining read!
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June 28, 2016Review by Michelle Anne Schlinger for the Jewish Book Council.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews