New Books Network Christine Estima, "Letters to Kafka" (House of Anansi, 2025)
Mar 18, 2026
Christine Estima, an author and journalist whose debut novel Letters to Kafka reimagines Milena Jesenská, discusses uncovering Milena’s life and reconstructing her voice from sparse archives. She talks about researching in Vienna and Prague. She explains choosing fiction over biography, portraying Kafka intimately, and weaving language, eroticism, and symbolism into the story.
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How The Novel Began With A Fellowship Search
- Christine first discovered Milena Jesenská when applying for a Vienna fellowship and found only a sparse Wikipedia entry.
- After buying five English books and researching, Christine thought "this bitch is amazing" and decided to write the novel herself.
Reconstructing A Lost Voice From Negative Space
- Most of what we know about Milena comes from others, especially Kafka's published letters, so her voice must be reconstructed from negative space.
- Estima spent four years consulting five translated books, a camp inmate's account, Milena's periodical dispatches, and archival research in Vienna and Prague.
When Fiction Fills Historical Gaps
- Historical fiction blends fact and invention; readers often ask which scenes are real, but emotional truth can justify imagined moments.
- Estima intentionally imagined Milena's lost letters and the details of their two trysts to reveal character rather than to claim documentary precision.
