Bending real history into a fantastical tale of two young thinkers in pursuit of 'the true truth,' [a] playful graphic novel by New Yorker cartoonist Krimstein . . . Irreverent yet full of tenderness for its subjects, Krimstein's experiment is a dizzying delight.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Einstein in Kafkaland is crisply written, witty, and with art that evokes places in time and feelings in the way all great graphic stories should. Along with some of Einstein's important physics, you may learn just what Kafka was driving at. One man manages to convince his readers the universe is impossible to understand; it's mysterious, even hostile. The other discovers the universe is knowable, if we embrace a future determined by gravity. If that seems weird and Kafka-esque, read on.” —Bill Nye
“Clever, charming, amusing, and just plain brilliant. Ken Krimstein is the most inventive graphic biographer on the planet-and certainly the only one who could explain both Einstein and Kafka. A page turner on gravity and relativity!” —Kai Bird, Pulitzer Prize-winning co-author of American Prometheus, the biography that inspired the Oscar-winning film Oppenheimer
“Ken Krimstein has staked out territory as comics' foremost chronicler of the intellectual history of the 20th century . . . Great back-to-basics cartooning set against great cityscapes of Prague.” —Forbes, "Top 10 Graphic Novels of 2024!"
“With wit, imagination, and vivid illustrations, Krimstein stretches the boundary of literary biography, turning dense history into a playful meditation on the unfettered boundaries of genius.” —Comics Beat, "The Beat's 50 Best Comics of 2024"
“Art and science collide in Ken Krimstein's new graphic biography. In this book, the author of the brilliant and whimsical The Three Escapes of Hannah Arendt similarly translates careful research into scenic, emotive comics-in this case tracking the potential effects of an adventitious meeting in Prague between two geniuses on the cusp of world-changing discoveries.” —NPR, "Summer Books Our Critics Can't Wait to Read"
“For the science-challenged, it comes as a relief and a delight to have gravity and relativity explained in Ken Krimstein's marvelously inventive graphic novel.” —The New York Sun
“[Krimstein] engagingly chronicles a significant time period for both [Einstein and Kafka] . . . A fun, amusing fantasy about an important year in two icons' lives.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Krimstein builds a remarkable historical fantasy that draws [Einstein and Kafka] together, each pulled along in their own way by the White Rabbit (yes, THAT White Rabbit) . . . readers seeking to go down the rabbit hole and feel the truth will be at home in these pages.” —Booklist
“With a dip into dream logic, and lots of historical truth, Einstein and Kafka meet in Prague, on the cusp of world-changing ideas.” —The Chicago Tribune
“Transports us through time and space and down the rabbit hole where Einstein learns that relativity is reality. Don't be surprised if you exclaim (yes, exclaim) 'curiouser and curiouser!' as you make your way through Ken Krimstein's newest graphic novel, Einstein in Kafkaland. That's exactly what Alice did early in her adventures in Wonderland when she noticed a non-trivial event: her feet walking quite quickly away from her - 'almost out of sight' - and quite without her. Parts of Kafkaland might well evoke similar reactions.”” —The Evanston Roundtable
“A whimsical, thoughtful story whose lyricism will grab readers at unexpected moments.” —Jewish Book Council
“Krimstein's art is as eclectic as the story. A mixture of sketches and watercolors brings the story to life.” —No Flying No Tights
2024-05-10
A graphic biography of the intersection of Einstein and Kafka in Prague during 1911-1912, a fertile period for both men.
Writer and cartoonist Krimstein, author of The Three Escapes of Hannah Arendt, When I Grow Up, and Kvetch as Kvetch Can, engagingly chronicles a significant time period for both cultural giants. When the year began, neither Einstein nor Kafka was the legendary figure he would become. As the author writes, Einstein was “a financially strapped 32-year-old father of three who’s had to drag his family here to double his salary, save his marriage, and, most important, to salvage his foundering scientific legacy.” Meanwhile, Kafka was “far from the cockroach-crowned, hooded-eyed ‘prophet of modern literature’ whose very name has become a byword for mechanized ennui and the robotic futility of modern life.” In Prague, Einstein began to understand that treating space as simple emptiness didn’t work, but allowing it physical qualities, such as the ability to bend and twist, opened up dazzling possibilities—although this theory required that time become a dimension as real as length, height, and depth. All this made matters vastly more complicated—the mathematics were daunting, and a mathematician friend later helped him with the equations—so he considered this period as extraordinarily stressful. Readers looking for an explanation of relativity should consult Krimstein’s superb, opinionated bibliography; the lively timeline is also helpful. Euclid makes an appearance to denounce adding a dimension to his immortal three. Kafka does not receive as much attention as Einstein, but mostly lurks about wondering if he and Einstein are simpatico. Perhaps to introduce conflict, Krimstein gives a prominent role to Max Abraham, a rare contemporary who rejected relativity. In reality, almost every physicist who read his papers thought he was on to something.
A fun, amusing fantasy about an important year in two icons’ lives.
