Two new Kafka biographies of which Nicolas Mahler’s graphic novel speaks louder than words

Franz Kafka wanted most of his writing and artwork burned after his death. Photo: Getty

JP O'Malley

Tomorrow marks the ­centenary of Franz Kafka’s death. The Prague-based J­­ewish writer is ­perhaps the most celebrated ­European ­author of the 20th ­century and ­considered an icon of the modernist movement, though he had few readers or admirers in his lifetime.

He published his debut book, Contemplation, in 1913. In a letter to his then fiancee, ­Felice Bauer, Kafka claimed the collection of short prose offers a few “bright spots” in an “endless confusion”.