Rüdiger Safranski on a century-defining figure of world literature. Franz Kafka said of himself: "I have no literary interest; I consist of literature, I am nothing else and cannot be anything else." In the ecstatic states of writing, Kafka felt truly alive. A tremendous world opened up to him. This resulted in a unique work full of mysteries. Kafka is a fascinating example of what writing can mean in extreme cases for life, how everything is subordinated to him, what tragedies and moments of happiness arise from it, and what insights emerge at this existential boundary. The 100th anniversary of Franz Kafka's death in 2024 is an occasion for Rüdiger Safranski to approach this mysterious figure of world literature in a literary-biographical essay. Unabridged reading with Frank Arnold. 1 MP3-CD, approx. 8h 40min.