Franz Kafka was born in 1883 in Prague, where he lived most of his life. During his lifetime, he has published only a few short stories, including “The Metamorphosis,” “The Judgment,” and “The Stoker.” He died in 1924, before completing any of his full-length novels. At the end of his life, Kafka asked his lifelong friend and literary executor Max Brod to burn all his unpublished work. Brod overrode those wishes.
Franz Kafka (Prague, Austro-Hungarian Empire, July 3, 1883 - Kierling, Austria, June 3, 1924) was a writer of Jewish origin born in Bohemia who wrote in German. His work is considered one of the most influential in universal literature and is full of themes and archetypes about alienation, physical and psychological brutality, conflicts between parents and children, characters in terrifying adventures, labyrinths of bureaucracy, and mystical transformations.

Kafka was the author of three novels, The Trial (Der Prozeß), The Castle (Das Schloß) and The Missing Man (Amerika or Der Verschollene), the short novel The Metamorphosis (Die Verwandlung) and a large number of short stories. He also left a large amount of correspondence and autobiographical writings. His distinctive literary style has been commonly associated with the artistic philosophy of existentialism - which he influenced - and expressionism. Kafka scholars debate how to interpret the author, some speak of the possible influence of an anti-bureaucratic political ideology, of a mystical religiosity or a vindication of his ethnocultural minority, while others focus on the psychological content of his works. His personal relationships also had a great impact on his writing, particularly his father (Letter to the Father), his fiancée Felice Bauer (Letters to Felice) and his sister (Letters to Ottla).

The term Kafkaesque is used in the Spanish language to describe surreal situations such as those found in his books and has its equivalents in other languages. Only a few of his works were published during his lifetime. Most, including unfinished works, were published by his friend Max Brod, who ignored the author's wishes that the manuscripts be destroyed.