Lovers of Franz K. : a novel

Lovers of Franz K. A novel

Burhan Sönmez

Book - 2025

"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 Muller at the West Berlin police station. As his interrogation progresses, through dialogues in the po...lice 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 Muller agree to work together to expose the truth. In this gripping, thought-provoking tribute to Kafka, Burhan Sonmez 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"--

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Subjects
Thrillers (Fiction)
Novels.
Genres
Thrillers (Fiction)
Novels
Published
New York : Other Press 2025.
Language
English
Kurdish
Main Author
Burhan Sönmez (author)
Other Authors
Samî Hêzil, 1975- (translator)
Physical Description
144 p.
ISBN
9781635425376
Contents unavailable.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

PEN International president Sönmez (Stone and Shadow) wrestles with fraught questions of loyalty and legacy in this contemplative literary thriller. In 1968, Ferdy Kaplan is arrested in Berlin for shooting university student Ernest Fischer. Though police initially assume Ferdy's motive is intellectual jealousy, they soon learn that his intended target was Max Brod, the executor of Franz Kafka's estate. Ferdy and his girlfriend, Amalya, became devoted to Kafka as teenagers in Istanbul and vehemently opposed Brod's decision to posthumously publish the late author's works, including The Trial and Amerika, in violation of his will. In short chapters that combine flashbacks with transcripts of conversations between Ferdy, a police commissioner, a judge, and a prosecutor, Sönmez gradually reveals the underpinnings of Ferdy's philosophy and its roots in the complicated political dynamics between Germany, France, and Turkey during and after WWII. The narrative ends with a bit of a whimper, and the translation is a mixed bag (the prose sections have the elemental intensity of a fairy tale, while the dialogue clangs), but Sönmez's sharp thematic layering and concise worldbuilding impress. This is a good bet for mystery readers seeking something off the beaten path. Agent: Nermin Mollaoglu, Kalem Agency. (Apr.)

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