Letters to Kafka
Publishing September 9, 2025 by House of Anansi Press
about
A sweeping, tragic romance and feminist adventure about translator and resistance fighter Milena Jesenská’s torrid love affair with Franz Kafka.
In 1919, Milena Jesenská, a clever and spirited twenty-three-year-old, is trapped in an unhappy marriage to literary critic Ernst Pollak. Since Pollak is unable to support the pair in Vienna’s post-war economy, Jesenská must supplement their income by working as a translator. Having previously met her compatriot Franz Kafka in the literary salons of Prague, she writes to him to ask for permission to translate his story The Stoker from German to Czech, becoming Kafka’s first translator. The letter launches an intense and increasingly passionate correspondence. Jesenská is captivated by Kafka’s energy, intensity, and burning ambition to write. Kafka is fascinated by Jesenská’s wit, rebellious spirit, and intelligence.
Jesenská and Kafka meet twice for lovers’ trysts, but can such an intense connection endure beyond a fleeting affair? In her remarkable debut novel, Christine Estima weaves little-known facts and fiction into a rich tapestry, powerfully portraying the struggles of a woman forced to choose between the roles of wife, lover, and intellectual.
preorder today!
LETTERS TO KAFKA will hit the bookshelves, the library, and the e-readers on September 9, 2025! But you can pre-order your copy today to ensure your copy arrives on time! AVAILABLE WHEREEVER YOU BUY BOOKS, but here are some popular pre-order links below to secure your copy today!
CANADA
Indigo
Amazon (Canada)
Flying Books (Toronto)
Book City (Toronto)
Another Story (Toronto)
Queen Books (Toronto)
Ben McNally Books (Toronto)
Argo Bookshop (Montreal)
Drawn & Quarterly (Montreal)
Bertrand Bookstore (Montreal)
Saint Henri Books (Montreal)
Massy Books (Vancouver)
Cross & Crows (Vancouver)
Upstart & Crow (Vancouver)
Hager Books (Vancouver)
USA
Barnes and Noble
Target
Apple Books
Google Books
Amazon US
Books-a-Million
Thriftbooks
Better World Books
Greenlight Bookstore (Brooklyn, NYC)
Moby The Great (Ohio)
Hudson Booksellers (New Jersey)
INTERNATIONAL
Waterstones (UK)
Foyles (UK)
Hatchards (UK)
WH Smith (UK)
Amazon UK
Amazon Spain
Amazon Japan
Kinokuniya (Japan)
Booktopia (Australia)
The Nile (Australia)
Shakespeare & Company (Paris, France)
iMUSIC (France)
Thalia (Vienna, Austria)
Morawa Wollzeile (Vienna, Austria)
Megabooks (Prague, Czech Republic)
Hugendubel (Germany)
Schweitzer (Germany)
Ex Libris (Switzerland)
Buchhaus (Switzerland)
iMUSIC (Denmark)
William Dam (Denmark)
PlusBog (Denmark)
Bookline (Hungary)
Platekompaniet (Norway)
Fantastic Fiction (worldwide)