Magical and secret Kafka. On the new Robinson

Perhaps no one like him, among the writers of the 20th century, was able to capture the anguish and estrangement of contemporary man, describing the madness of power with dark irony. The cover of Robinson on newsstands today with Republic it is a tribute to Franz Kafka one hundred years after his death.

Writer Alberto Manguel he focuses on his unfinished novel America, on the influence he had on another great twentieth-century artist, the Argentine Jorge Luis Borges, struck in his youth by the themes of that never-finished work, published posthumously in 1927: from the educational adventure, to the alienation in the era of industrial progress, to the yearning for freedom. All subjects that Borges reworked in his writings, building imaginary places like Kafka “that exist eternally, that perpetually offer us the temptation of a meaning”. With Alessandro Catalano, scholar of Czech literature, we then take you into the Magical Prague of the writer: set of Kafka’s novels and, for this reason, a place identified as a hypnotic labyrinth, in which to still discover his traces among squares, museums and extravagant monuments dedicated to him. Illustrating our cover and these pages are the beautiful illustrations of a myth of American comics, Robert Crumba true lover of the writer and his works: the volume Kafkawith its drawings and texts by David Zane Mairowitz will be in bookstores from Rizzoli Lizardi at the end of May in a new edition.

Then, as always, we offer you a reading. It is signed by Umberto Eco, who was not only a semiologist and writer, but also a translator. And precisely from a book dedicated to translation, entitled Say almost the same thingnow republished from La nave di Teseo, is taken from the text in which Eco explains why translating is an art, and what are the mistakes that must be avoided.

Our author reviews follow – one of which is signed by the bestselling writer Felicia Kingsley – and the portrait of a writer to be rediscovered: it is Lillian Hellman, American playwright and screenwriter, author of four memoirs to be rediscovered. While in the space reserved for girls and boys, guided by a splendid illustrated manual, we tell you all about the secret life of trees (writes Giulia Boero) and – with Lucio Luca – the adventure of the “Carota Boys” Of Jannik Sinner.

In the Art space, Lara Crinò interviewed De Bruyckere in Berlin: the Belgian artist is the protagonist, until November, of an exhibition in the Abbey of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice: a sacred space in which De Bruyckere, with respect for the wonder of the Palladian church, has inserted his large works sorrowful archangels who speak to us of a common need for spirituality.

Moving on to Shows, another interview: Arianna Finos met Marco Bellocchio, who is bringing the restored version of his film to Cannes Throw the monster on the front page and with Robinson talks about his cinema, the great actors he worked with, and his relationship with history and current events.

In the Festival pages, the “cartographer of the fantastic” Francesca Baerald, among the guests of the Modena gaming festival, explains to us how she creates her imaginary worlds. Finally, as always, Straparlando: this week Antonio Gnoli met Angela Staude; she is the widow of Tiziano Terzani, she recalls her life together with the journalist and writer of A fortune teller told me.