Franz Kafka is one of the classics of European literature of the 20th century, the author of absurdist works, the heroes of which suffer and die in a collision with an alien, hostile reality. Kafka's books are a mirror reflection of the fate of their author, who spent his entire life trying in vain to find harmony in the family, in creativity, and in relationships with women. He remained lonely and misunderstood, his novels and stories were not successful, and only the efforts of his friends saved them from destruction after the writer’s death from tuberculosis. Today, Kafka is a source of pride for three cultures to which he belonged to one degree or another - Austrian, Czech and Jewish. Hundreds of books have been written about his life and work, and one of the best was written by the French literary critic and translator Claude Davila. Its publication in the “ZhZL” series undoubtedly attracted the attention of all those who are interested in the amazing and tragic figure of Kafka in the context of modern culture.