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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Entertainment
David Barnett

Franz Kafka’s dour image hid a much lighter side, a new exhibition reveals

Franz Kafka.
Franz Kafka. Photograph: Bodleian Libraries

As Franz Kafka awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into ... a funny guy, actually.

The Prague-born writer, who died a century ago on 3 June, aged 40, is less renowned for his humour in novels and stories such as The Metamorphosis, The Trial and The Castle, and more for his nightmares of ordinary people trapped in impenetrable bureaucratic mazes.

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