Life after Kafka

A novel inspired by the fate of Kafka's fiancée Felice Bauer. Who exactly was Kafka's fiancée Felice Bauer, a woman whom generations of Kafka fans know only as a lover of meaty meals, heavy furniture and precisely ordered watches? < br> Who was behind the serene nature and hearty laughter to which there is testimony? And how far did Kafka's shadow reach in her life? She has never been worthy of independent study by literary scholars, and little is known about her life after her break with the Prague writer. She married, had two children, emigrated to America. For forty years, she cherished the letters of the man who left her. < br> The author began to search for Felicia's traces in America in 2010, when her son was still living. From the meeting with him and his family came a book that is ultimately not only about Felicia, but also about other people who were close to Kafka in some way and whose fates are linked to pre-war Europe and its ruins: Greta Bloch, Ernst Weiss, Max Brod or Salomon Shocken. The last one in the book says: "If only we knew what fate has in store for us, and how precious what we experience is, we would appreciate it more. What do we have to do now but hunt for splinters from the sunken ship." < br> < br> The publication of the book was supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.