zeinab ajarmeh

Kafka’s Letters to Milena is a profound work, overflowing with intense emotions, yet marked by constant contradictions stemming from Kafka’s own inner turmoil. His anxiety, perhaps exacerbated by his illness, deeply colors his correspondence. As you dive deeper into the letters, you can’t help but feel that something is missing: Milena’s responses. Her voice, absent from the collection, leaves a notable void, prompting the reader to imagine what her letters might have said. This absence creates a lingering incompleteness, as we witness Kafka’s overwhelming love for Milena, but are left wondering how she truly felt about him. Although Kafka occasionally alludes to her feelings, the lack of her direct words makes it harder to fully grasp the depth of her emotions toward him. What struck me most is the shift in Kafka’s relationship with the letters themselves. At the start, and even well into the middle of the book, Kafka speaks of how he cannot live without Milena’s letters, clinging to them as his lifeline. However, as the correspondence progresses, these very letters transform into a source of torment for him. This evolution—letters moving from a source of comfort to one of suffering—illustrates Kafka’s complex emotional state, encapsulating the paradoxes that define his love for Milena. You cannot prevent the book from affecting your emotions….

We are all blind but we can see…but we do not want to see…. In essence, the novel contends that our sight is obscured by our own unwillingness to truly perceive. While I appreciate the book, I don't believe it reaches the pinnacle of Nobel Prize-worthy literature. However, it undeniably stands out for its originality and innovation. The author's thought-provoking style serves as a critique of human values and ethics, compelling readers to form their own judgments and strip away the metaphorical blindness that shields self-interest.

This novel was recommended to me by a friend…when i bought it i thought it would take me forever to finish but Zafón was able to make me literally live all the details and the feelings of the characters due to his way in depicting life in Barcelona and the people including the characters in the novel. I fell in love with this book and felt that i need to get to the end so fast…i enjoyed very much how he made Daniel’s life similar to Karkas…you feel that it is a story within a story… and it is actually you feel that when you realize that there are lots of turning points in the events… it depicts love…friendship…hatred… sadness….happiness…violence…determination…ot to mention the historical, social, and literary knowledge that it provides the reader with…I loved the end and was excited when i got to the point to know that Karkas resumed writing….a must-read book💖💖💖