A CBC Best Book of 2025A sweeping, tragic romance and feminist adventure about translator and resistance fighter Milena Jesensks torrid love affair with Franz Kafka.In 1919, Milena Jesensk, a clever and spirited twenty-three-year-old, is trapped in an unhappy marriage to literary critic Ernst Pollak. Since Pollak is unable to support the pair in Viennas post-war economy, Jesensk must supplement their income by working as a translator. Having previously met her compatriot Franz Kafka in the literary salons of Prague, she writes to him to ask for permission to translate his story The Stoker from German to Czech, becoming Kafkas first translator. The letter launches an intense and increasingly passionate correspondence. Jesensk is captivated by Kafkas energy, intensity, and burning ambition to write. Kafka is fascinated by Jesensks wit, rebellious spirit, and intelligence.Jesensk and Kafka meet twice for lovers trysts, but can such an intense connection endure beyond a fleeting affair? In her remarkable debut novel, Christine Estima weaves little-known facts and fiction into a rich tapestry, powerfully portraying the struggles of a woman forced to choose between the roles of wife, lover, and intellectual.