COMPLETELY KAFKA - Nicholas Mahler

A biography of Franz Kafka told in minimalist, illustrative form.

I was really thrilled to get this book.  I'm a tremendous fan of the work of Franz Kafka and, many decades ago, I had read through his collected letters and diaries. Getting a new work out there, to reach a new audience - especially those who enjoy or prefer graphic novels - seemed really ideal.

Unfortunately this book just doesn't work for me. The biggest issue for me is: is this a graphic novel?  I don't think it is. It is a heavily illustrated, short biography.  There is one drawing per page (with the rare exception when there are two small drawings) and the drawings don't help tell the narrative but rather pick a moment from the narrative to re-tell. It's more akin to the illustrating of a children's book.  Except that this isn't for children.

Who this book is targeted toward becomes my other problem with the reading.  It's not for kids - Kafka's life is not a children's story! Older readers (such as myself) are probably not as interested in the format.  So ... university students?  Those who've grown up with Twitter and TickTock as a means of communication and prefer the abbreviated, CliffsNotes style of information gathering?

The best part of the book, for me, is the bibliography and the note citations at the end.  If this book is intended to create some interest in Kafka so that the reader might want to look further, then the book maybe works and the bibliography and citations are hugely important.

Looking for a good book? Completely Kafka: A Comic Biography by Nicholas Mahler is a unique take on a biography but its appeal may be very limited.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars

* * * * * *

Completely Kafka: A Comic Biography

author: Nicholas Mahler

translator: Alexander Booth

artist: Nicholas Mahler

publisher: Pushkin Press

ISBN: 9781805331582

paperback, 112 pages

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