Zadie Smith on Franz Kafka
Submitted by Robert Daeley on Fri, 2008-06-27 09:24.
In the NY Review of Books, Zadie Smith reviews The Tremendous World I Have Inside My Head: Franz Kafka: A Biographical Essay by Louis Begley.
How to describe Kafka, the man? Like this, perhaps:
It is as if he had spent his entire life wondering what he looked like, without ever discovering there are such things as mirrors.
A naked man among a multitude who are dressed.
A mind living in sin with the soul of Abraham.
Franz was a saint.
Or then again, using details of his life, as found in Louis Begley’s refreshingly factual The Tremendous World I Have Inside My Head: Franz Kafka: A Biographical Essay: over six feet tall, handsome, elegantly dressed; an unexceptional student, a strong swimmer, an aerobics enthusiast, a vegetarian; a frequent visitor to movie houses, cabarets, all-night cafes, literary soirees and brothels; the published author of seven books during his brief lifetime; engaged three times (twice to the same woman); valued by his employers, promoted at work.
More on Zadie Smith at Wikipedia.