Letters to Milena: A Prague Reading and Travel Guide

Whenever you hear about Franz Kafka, the esteemed writer from Prague, the book you will hear mentioned is often The Metamorphosis. It is a book that bridges generations. I was recently in Prague, when a teenager in our tour group praised this book so highly. She and I—and our semi-retired tour guide—were able to get into conversation about it.

The Metamorphosis is on one of Reading Around the World’s recommended shelves; however, the book that stands apart for me, a book you rarely hear discussed, is Kafka’s Letters to Milena.

I wish letter writing was not so alien these days. They say there’s a special way the mind communicates with the hand, or maybe it’s in the way the hand communicates with the heart, when pen goes to paper. Reading these letters, I learned much about Franz Kafka, his eccentricities and sensibilities. And I have to say, I saw and appreciated the writer more.

Like Pessoa did for me in Lisbon, Kafka made me consider Prague as a city steeped in literature, art, conflict, beauty and pain. Writing as an outsider, his words helped me discover a juxtaposed Prague even before visiting the city. His letters show the other side of him, the side beneath the surface, that most do not get to discover.

In Letters to Milena, the third book of our August reading challenge, Franz Kafka lays bare his vulnerabilities, his thoughts on love, his flaws.

The Reading Challenge

During the Reading Europe Challenge, I have been Reading Prague in August. Please join me from your bedroom, train, or plane ride as we build our personal libraries and reading prowess by reading around the world.

Join me in reading this third book on the list, this poignant collection of letters from Franz Kafka to the woman he loved.

To support the work of Reading Around the World, please purchase your book from the Reading Around the World Bookshop and the copy is linked below.

The Story

Milena Jesenská, a Czech journalist and writer, asks Franz Kafka to translate one of his short stories into Czech (Kafka wrote in German). They begin to exchange correspondence about the work in translation. Soon, their professional letters morph into love letters.

Kafka falls in love with Milena, a married woman in a “free love” marriage. They begin an affair that occurs mostly through words. He worries about her constantly, offers her money and companionship, plans trips for proposed dates, even adheres to her wishes, which includes being friendly with her husband.

What is most beguiling is not their flawed relationship but the way in which Kafka writes, the way in which he accentuates his thoughts and feelings:

“I’m never afraid about you, even if it sometimes seems that way and it often does—it’s simply a weakness, a mood of the heart, which knows exactly why it’s beating nevertheless. Giants have their weaknesses as well; I believe even Hercules fainted once. With my teeth clenched, however, and with your eyes before me I can endure anything: distance, anxiety, worry, letterlessness.”

He was a recluse, a man who suffered from an illness that kept him indoors and for that we can be thankful because he produced some great works of art. He feared the motives of people who tried to friend him, especially given his notoriety as a writer. He had anxiety and found the world strange. He was in love with Chekhov’s writing. This and many other things you learn when reading his letters to Milena.

In these letters he is a relatable idiosyncratic. He is equally witty, sad, charming, and hopeful. This is an epistolary book you read in spurts.

About the Book

Milena Jesenská was the Czech translator who worked closely with Franz Kafka, whose works were published in German. Kafka, a recluse, was able to reveal himself to her in ways he’d never been able to do before. Pretty soon, their correspondence developed into love correspondence. He entrusted the safekeeping of his diaries to her.

At approximately 298 pages with approximately 149 letters and postcards, this book includes letters of Kafka’s love and anxieties. Some of the letters were written just before Kafka’s death. There is some dispute about most of the letters written by Milena—some are presumed lost.

About the Author

Franz Kafka was a German-speaking writer born near the Old Town Square in Prague during the Austro-Hungarian Empire. His work became one of the foundations of modern literature. He was born into a middle-class Jewish family in Prague, and he grew up amid German, Czech, and Jewish cultural influences that shaped his sense of displacement. He studied law at the German University in Prague.

Kafka’s difficult relationship with his father influenced the themes in his fiction and personal writings. His best-known works include The Metamorphosis and The Trial. During his life, only a few of his works were published. He became widely known posthumously.

A Guide for Your Reading Group Discussion

1. Illness and insomnia are themes that emanate from these letters. Do you think Kafka’s illness influenced his relationship with Milena?
2. What did you discover about general writing life and artistry from these letters? What did you discover about Franz Kafka’s writing life?
3. How do you feel about Milena and the loneliness that permeates her life? Discuss the moments when you are able to see her life and thoughts through Kafka’s descriptions. As a reader, what did you expect from her?
4. What does this book show about loving someone from a distance? How does it emphasize a love and life in letters?
5. Which letter was your favorite from the bunch of letters and why?

A Literary Travel Guide

Visit Franz Kafka’s Prague. As you stroll through Prague, it is clear that Kafka is widely celebrated in the literary, cultural, and tourism worlds.

Here are a few places to that will enhance your reading experiences:

• Franz Kafka Museum. There are different exhibitions of Kafka, which I found confusing, so I suggest being careful in choosing the museum, which will have exhibits of his manuscripts. This museum is in Malá Strana, or Lesser Town (Prague 1) next to the Vltava.
• Franz Kafka Rotating Head. If you arrive at the top of the hour, you can see this head move and disintegrate. This is free to the public and a big tourist attraction so go early to avoid the bigger crowds.
• Franz Kafka Statue. Found in Prague’s Jewish Quarter, this statue consists of two bodies and elucidates Kafka’s short story, “Description of a Struggle.”
• Old Town Square. A historic square in the Old Town Quarter of Prague, Kafka was born near this square. There are many attractions and eateries in Old Town.
• Franz Kafka House/Birthplace. Kafka’s house near the Old Town Square is understated and beautiful, something you would probably miss without a guide. It is opposite a Kafka Exhibit.

Books to Purchase for the Reading Europe Challenge in August—We’re Reading Prague in August:

• Too Loud A Solitude, by Bohumil Hrabal
• Love and Garbage, by Ivan Klima
• Letters to Milena, by Franz Kafka
• The Unbearable Lightness of Being, by Milan Kundera

P.S. Browse the Books By Continent page to find great reads that spark your interest. Please purchase from the Reading Around the World Shop to support both content for readers and books from independent bookstores.