Manuel Vilas

“In all likelihood, I would never have become a writer if I hadn’t read Franz Kafka—or if Franz Kafka’s work did not exist. If I try to erase Kafka’s work from my soul, I’m left without a literary vocation. […]

My first recommendation is to read, as a starter, Kafka’s three long narratives: Amerika, The Trial, and The Castle, in that order. And then the Diaries, the short stories, Letter to His Father, the correspondence—in short, the complete works. Kafka lovingly commands you to read his entire oeuvre. He doesn’t actually command it; you simply feel that need, for one very simple reason: every sentence Kafka wrote is a miracle of life. That’s why you end up reading not only all his works, but everything that has ever been written about him.”