Set in New York City and Prague in 1992, Kafka’s Son follows a first-person narrator who is a documentary filmmaker. In a New York synagogue, he meets an elderly Czech Jew named Jiri, once the head of the famous Jewish Museum in Prague, with whom he discovers a shared love of Kafka. Inspired by this friendship, the narrator travels to Prague to make a film about Jewish life in the city and its Kafka connections.
In his search for answers, he crosses paths with the beadle of the famous 900-year-old Altneushul synagogue, the rumored home to a legendary golem hidden away in a secret attic—which may or may not exist; a mysterious man who may or may not be Kafka’s son—and who may or may not exist; Mr. Klein, who although several years younger than Jiri may or may not be his father; and an enigmatic young woman in a blue beret—who is almost certainly real.
Maybe.
As Prague itself becomes as perplexing and unpredictable as its transient inhabitants, Curt Leviant unfolds a labyrinthine tale that is both detective novel and love story, captivating maze and realistic fantasy, and a one hundred percent stunning tribute to Kafka and his city.
