Translation by: Fabio Pedone
Year of publication: 2026


Synopsis:
There is only one photograph showing Franz Kafka smiling, and it was taken on the beach of the Lido of Venice. In this book, Benjamin Balint accompanies us to discover a little-known aspect of the life of the celebrated writer: his relationship with Italy. Through letters and autograph texts, Balint retraces the itineraries of the four trips made by Kafka between 1909 and 1920, emphasizing the influence that the landscape and climate of the peninsula had on his writing. The author also highlights the fundamental role that Italian culture played in the European dissemination of Kafka's works, thanks to the mediation of great intellectuals like Bazlen, Calvino, Moravia, and Primo Levi. And with one last, unexpected turn, he takes us to W. G. Sebald, who in Vertigini had already retraced Kafka's footsteps. A learned and surprising book, enriched by an intimate and limpid writing, that redraws our vision of Kafka, intertwining his story with that of our country.

The residency of Benjamin Balint was made possible by a collaboration with Beit Venezia. Casa della cultura ebraica, within the project Reading Kafka in Venice, supported by the Veneto Region as part of the initiatives for the celebration of Holocaust Remembrance Day and the fight against antisemitism with the promotion of knowledge of Jewish culture.


Other information:
Series: Mude
Pages: 128
Language: Italian
ISBN: 9791280930521