This is the second of a three-volume biography of Kafka, and it appears to be definitive. It is well researched and well written. There was more than I really wanted to know about Kafka, almost a daily recounting (of the middle portion) of his life. So this may appeal more to writers. You do learn about his process of writing and its effect on the other elements of his life. ( )

Excellent--as good as the 'first' (i.e., last?) volume was, this is substantially better. Stach inserts less quasi-philosophical meditations, and his writing about the books and stories is outstanding. I still suspect that he takes Kafka too much as his word, but then, so does everyone; there's a curious reluctance to admit that Kafka's diaries are just as performative as his letters, and that all the self-flagellation need not be an accurate representation of his mental state.

Particularly important is Stach's tracing of Kafka's relationship with Felice Bauer. ( )

«Yo soy la literatura», anotó Kafka en sus diarios. Esta afirmación enigmática y radical evidencia la compleja relación entre la vida y la obra de uno de los grandes autores del siglo pasado. Escritor dotadísimo, marcado por su fragilidad, por una extraordinaria finura espiritual, por su desbordante talento, y dividido entre la voluntad paterna de convertirlo en empresario y cabeza de familia y su propio deseo de consagrarse a unas pocas páginas que lo satisficieran, cobra vida en esta biografía que nos reafirma en la idea de que en él se condensa todo el siglo XX. Reiner Stach, que dedicó más de una década a la escritura de esta obra monumental, aclamada como la biografía definitiva de Kafka, combina con destreza la rigurosa investigación biográfica e histórica con la profunda comprensión de la vida y la obra del escritor praguense, y nos ofrece una recreación vívida y literaria del mundo, en sus detalles, de este autor ya imprescindible.

I hope to review this later, probably after I read the next volume. Suffice it to say, this is indispensable reading for any serious Kafka fan. I read a review (New York Observer, Dec. 2005) complaining about the level of detail Stach uses to describe what the critic saw as Kafka's boring life. That is an absurd point on which to attack the book. Even the casual Kafka reader knows he wasn't some swashbuckling world traveler. The inner life was his focus, and Stach manages to contextualize everything going on in Kafka's life in order to present this life to the reader. It is a work of astonishing scholarship. I cannot wait to get started on the next volume. ( )

Diese Biografie hebt sich deutlich von bisher bekannten Kafka-Biografien ab. Auf drei Bände ist sie angelegt. Dieser Band macht den Leser mit den Jahren 1910-1915 in Kafkas Lebensumfeld bekannt. Arbeit, 1. Weltkrieg, Junggesellen-Dasein, Felice Bauer, Reisen und die Begeisterung für technische Entwicklungen, etc. Und nicht zuletzt die in dieser Zeit entstandenen Erzählungen wie Das Urteil, Der Heizer, Der Verschollene, ... Ein tolles Buch, für das man sich viel Zeit nehmen sollte und immer wieder mal ein Kapitel aufschlagen und lesen möchte. Ausgestattet mit vielen Abbildungen. ( )