It’s time for me to admit that I’m probably not going to finish this book. I’m shelving it as “didn’t finish yet” because I might end up reading it someday in the future, but for now, I just can’t do it. I wanted to read this book so badly. I am extremely interested in science and I love Alice in wonderland so I thought this would be the perfect book for me, but it’s just way too much. It’s so boring. The pictures are unpleasant. There is way too much writing for a graphic novel. It just feels like a chore forcing myself to try and read this. I’m done trying for now. Maybe one day I’ll be in the mood to read something like this, but that day isn’t happening before this books expires on my NetGalley app. It expires today. So, I had to just go ahead and give up for now. Sorry.

I never knew that Albert Einstein and Franz Kafka were both in Prague from April 1911 to July 1912. That much is true, and they ran in the same social circles. But did they know each other? Award-winning New Yorker cartoonist Ken Krimstein not only imagines their meeting, but he details their friendship and the incidents that led one to declare that he had the key to “solving gravity” and the other to publishing the short story “The Judgement,” which would launch his literary career.

At the time Einstein was not a household name, but a mere cash-strapped patent clerk who’d just landed a much-desired university teaching job, while Kafka was still an unknown dour insurance executive who’d published nothing. Krimstein brings their imagined relationship alive in this wonderful graphic novel — one narrated by the skeleton on Prague’s Astronomical Clock, built in 1410. Einstein in Kafkaland is full of magical realism (including the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland), but that just adds to a novel that is Krimstein’s Gedankenexperiment (thought experiment). Highly, highly recommended.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received this book from NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

This was imaginative and creative, and I liked the unusual artwork. I can't explain why, but I completely lost interest somewhere after the halfway point. I suspect history buffs will enjoy the book.

"Einstein in Kafkaland" is an amusing and engaging examination of the time Einstein spent in Prague while wrestling with the impact of gravity on his theory of relativity. This is a well researched depiction of Einstein's trials and tribulations of the time that benefits both from little known historical facts and completely fanciful embellishments. Thus, the skeleton from the Prague clock tower narrates, Einstein falls down a rabbit hole reminiscent of one envisioned by a gifted Victorian mathematician and Franz Kafka appears as a fellow attendee of a fashionable salon. The overall result is disorienting and enlightening at the same time. This book is recommended for anyone who loves the hard sciences but can still retain a sense of humor.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Bloomsbury USA, for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I posted a few images from this book in my Instagram stories, and explained the co great of the fictional relationship between Einstein and Kafka. I post often about Kafka and his Jewish identity, so this book’s topic would be of I Terese yo followers. I had also reviewed Krimstein’s previous book in great detail (When I Grow Up) and reminded followers that I had shared this authors beautiful and poignant work before.

Book review: 4.5/5 ⭐️
Genre: graphic novel, non-fiction
Themes: madness, revolutionizing, reality, academia

As a scientist and a scholar with an imagination that regularly falls down the rabbit hole I feel as though this book was meant to fall into my hands. I appreciated the occasionally dark and self-deprecating humour laced with truth that was present throughout. As was an adept explanation of physical concepts and philosophy that was accessible to physicists and laymen alike. The historical markers and related scientific achievements were well explained to make the story flow. While there are several hallmarks to fame in these pages, this is really a story of family and camaraderie, of obsession and brilliance, of the place where creativity grows.

This is my first graphic novel and it will certainly not be my last. I was shocked by the complete level of story-telling and the illustrations were beautiful. With just enough madness to make one smile and gape in awe interchangeably this was a memorable novel I would enjoy revisiting. Devoid of pretence or heavy jargon this was easy to read and enjoy. There were even a few pages that felt pulled from my very consciousness at the time of reading. I didn’t think a graphic novel on this subject could be so relatable. It managed to pinpoint universal states of mind so well.

Don’t get me wrong, this may make you feel crazy at times, but such is the realm of innovation. Falling down the rabbit hole is meant to feel disorienting with a healthy dose of madness, as all the best people have! The rabbit hole in question is Prague and this is the story of how Einstein’s short sojourn in the city was able to change his mindset and plant the seed for space-time and how gravity could be incorporated into relativity. Mind blowing in the weirdest ways. Creativity meets science for this brief history of relativity.

Thank you to Bloomsbury USA and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy. I think I will have to buy this one because I really ended up loving it!

Using archival materials, Krimstein pieces together a reasonably plausible account of the year Einstein and Kafka lived in Prague at the same time, right before their careers took off. The book mostly follows Einstein and his family/financial/academic challenges, with just a little sprinkle of Kafka. The common thread between them is their professional struggles and search for truth—Einstein through science and Kafka through writing. The best part of the book was the skeleton narrator, and the worst part was the flat humor. Also, I get that this is primarily about Einstein's life, but it's kind of infuriating that there's no explanation of relativity.

The art style is gritty—sketchy black ink drawings with a bluey-greeny watercolor background that fits the moody tone. Because the panels are sometimes dark and messy, it can be hard to decipher what you're looking at.

I wouldn't say this is a groundbreaking piece of work, but I will say that I can now give you a mostly accurate timeline of one year in Einstein's life.

Thanks @ NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is a delightful excursion with Einstein to Prague in 1911-12. As told by the skeleton from the famous astronomical clock, Albert has more on his mind than physics. There is the problem of money, and red tape, and an adversary determined to bring him down. But these things don’t happen in isolation, not even Einsteins’s struggles with fitting gravity into his theories. Prague offers social interaction and Franz Kafka happens to be there. According to the skeleton there is meaningful interaction between the two as well unexpected as guest star appearances. If you have ever struggled having to accept something that seems impossible you’ll enjoy this book. Einstein (and Kafka) were indeed very exceptional, but also just people. There is fantasy involved, but also a great deal of research (and notes) making this hard to classify and the artwork propels the story.

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Einstein in Kafkaland: How Albert Fell Down the Rabbit Hole and Came Up With the Universe by Ken Krimstein is a graphic novel taking place in Prague, 1911-1912 following the upward momentum of Albert Einstein and Franz Kafka. Mr. Krimstein is an award-winning cartoonist from the New Yorker.

Albert Einstein moved to Prague, Czech Republic with his family in 1911 which sets him on a path to create the General Theory of Relativity. This time was known as Einstein’s “lost year”, nevertheless it was an important time in the physicist’s life.

Franz Kafka, unknown insurance salesman, wrote The Judgement during that period. His path with the soon-to-be-famous Einstein crossed in ways which are unique as the two men are.

The first thing that jumped at me in this graphic novel is the art. It’s not stylish, or even finished, as the ones I enjoy, but more raw as if in a dream state. The pace is not face, nor was it slow and the narrative was both mysterious and reflective.

The narrator of Einstein in Kafkaland by Ken Krimstein is told by a famous skeleton residing on the Prague clock. The introduction itself is about 20 pages, and then we get almost 80 pages about Einstein, including an bizarre talk-show style interview of Einstein’s wife, Mileva Marić, by the skeleton about their first daughter who the couple gave up for adoption.

While the book does introduce Kafka’s influence on literature the main story still involves Einstein, Kafka’s influence, cockroaches aside, is how the surrealism is presented. The physicist meets his god, Euclid, duels with his rival scientist, and more all in a dreamlike state. And yes, there are plenty of references to Lewis Caroll’s classic as the title suggests.

Much like theoretical physics, the book is abstract in text and art. This is not a light read and took me some time to finish it. This is an informative, reflective, yet bizarre book which takes concentration to read, but I thought that Einstein by Walter Issacson explained the science better, even though I admit I still barely understand it.

I especially enjoyed that Prague is also a character in this graphic novel, and sometimes steals the focus from Einstein, Kafka, and the skeleton. This graphic novel is not for everyone, but it’s put together very nicely and explains the science well. The jokes mostly fell flat (I was hoping for Yiddish style jokes) and it shows well how Einstein became a superstar, but I felt that it lacked to explain why Kafka became a literary sensation.

Einstein in Kafkaland is a graphic novel written about the year 1911-12 in which Einstein and Kafka focused on the works they are best known for - Kafka was attempting to get a book published and Einstein was wrapping his mind around the missing link for his theorem. The work that came out of this year still impacts us and our knowledge of science and literature today.

This was a fun book to read - lighthearted, informative, and even humorous at times with facts about Einstein and Kafka dropped in for good measure. Ken Krimstein does a great job of narrating the book (via the viewpoint of a medieval skeleton found on the town clock tower) and keeping a good pace. I read 80 pages in one sitting.

Another aspect of the book that I enjoyed were the graphics. The illustrations for the book were lively and visually interesting and the text was the perfect length for each page. Krimstein was able to marry the text and the illustrations perfectly.

I believe this book is meant for an older audience - i.e. late middle school / high school, adults could read it as well and find it enjoyable. I would recommend this book for those who would like to learn more about an incredible time in history and Kafka & Einstein's accomplishments.

I love the idea of this and the story was interesting. The artwork was unique and there were a lot of ideas. This was kind of a fantastical way of looking at some important people in the context of their times. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Bloomsbury USA for an advanced copy of this new graphic novel that looks at a specific time in world history where two men, both lost in the world at the time, formulated the ideas that would change the worlds of science and literature, with the help of friends, family, and fictionally each other.

I hear this a lot, what famous person in history would one like to meet, and why. This comes up in podcasts, television even books. Depending on the day, the time, and my mood this changes by the second. Writers have been using this idea for years. What if these two people met, what would have happened? What great things would have been discussed, what secrets discovered? Unfortunately famous people are just like real people. Sometimes they don't feel like being sociable. Or interested. One famous tale from the real world is the meeting of the authors James Joyce and Marcel Proust. One would think two grand writers would have much to share. According to most, there was a brief conversations a lot of No's about various subjects, and that was it. But writers can dream. And artists can paint these dreams. Einstein in Kafkaland: How Albert Fell Down the Rabbit Hole and Came Up With the Universe by writer, cartoonist, biographer Ken Krimstein is a graphic novel of a city, and a time where two men who would change their fields, might have met and shared ideas and inspiration.

Albert Einstein was broke and in need of a job that paid well, not only to help his growing family, but to get out of the debt that he had found himself in. This was the Einstein of the patent office, before his ideas began to take off. At this time he was another dreamer one step ahead of creditors. A job in Prague in the country of Hungary at the time. Prague was a city rich in arts, but also anti-Jewish and religious, something that Einstein tried to ignore, to his wife's annoyance. Franz Kafka was an insurance man, a job that had been arranged by this father, and one that while interesting to Kafka, was not one he wanted for life. Kafka dreamed of being a writer, and was publishing small articles but nothing that felt real to him. The two men were gifted with friends, and in Einstein's case a wife who gave feedback on the men's work, and pushed when fear or mistakes got in the way. In the graphic novel, the men meet at a lecture that Einstein gave, and began a friendship, and a mutual support system that helped them achieve their dreams.

An engaging story that is as much about the city of Prague as it is about Einstein and Kafka. Being a graphic novel this story can draw just as much on the visual medium as the prose medium, showing the thoughts that Einstein was having about gravity and his theories. Watching a ball pass through a train tunnel. Imagining a window washer falling off a building, a story Einstein loved to share, though he just imagined it and liked the shocking example it made. Krimstein as well as being a great artist, is also a great writer. One gets a feel for both men feeling lost in a world that seems to be progressing so well. Krimstein captures the imagination of the two, describing clearly the ideas and theories of Einstein, and the creative need of Kafka to write, and maybe impress his father. Krimstein doesn't let the story get bogged down in science, but keeps everything moving well. The art is really quite good. The water colors along with the backgrounds of the city really catch the eye, and make for some stunning visuals. The art also clears up some of the science, a pictures can tell a story that words sometimes can not.

Fans of the cartoonist will enjoy this, as well as science readers. This might be a good gateway graphic novel to introduce people who would never think of looking at a a mere comic book. The art and subject matter go quite well together.

The graphics are fine. It wasn't gorgeous to look at, but it was raw and dreamlike. I found the amount of text at once sometimes hard to read, but I'm not a big graphic novel reader so that might be on me. I don't know much about Einstein, but I do know Kafka. I felt the representation of him was artificial. It didn't seem dark and introspective enough for him to be realistic given the nature of his body of work and his life. There were many jokes that also fell flat for me. The idea of this story was exciting, but I didn't really enjoy reading it even as it seemed to descend further down the rabbit hole.
Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA for the opportunity to review this ARC!

Thanks to Net Galley and Mr. Krimstein for this book. It was as though he pulled it directly from my brain. I didn't know I needed this, but once I saw the title I was intrigued and once I had it in my hot little hands, I was sold. The story is just the way I would want it to be told and the watercolors are beautiful.
Run. Don't. Walk!

One premise for Ken Krimstein’s Einstein in Kafkaland: How Albert Fell Down the Rabbit Hole and Came Up With the Universe (expected, August 2024) is that both Einstein and Kafka, two genius innovators, lived in Prague at the same time, 1911-12. Krimstein, who does his typical deep dive into the research, finds that Kafka (and his buddy, agent Max Brod) was present at the first public talk Einstein gave. Historical fiction, it imagines Kafka (an insurance agent at the time and unknown as a writer) walking and talking to Einstein, who has not had much luck getting work as he struggles with theories of gravity, light, and the nature of the physical universe.

This was at the time Kafka was trying to figure out the nature of the universe from another angle. Krimstein plays around with what they might have had in common: “The same thing you are: The true truth.” Both were nobodies, weirdos, suffered (and made their families suffer) for their obsessions, who moved to the upper echelon of their fields of work. In the same year or so, they both made breakthroughs; Kafka in 1912 published “The Judgement,” that in a way revolutionized literature, and well, Einstein, you know, the General Theory of Relativity.

The loose colorful illustration style (similar to his work on his Hanna Arendt book) invites us into the quirky worlds/minds of Kafka and especially Einstein, and makes it all more accessible. At one point we learn that Alice in Wonderland by Mathematics don Lewis Carroll contains playful connections to a lot of Einstein’s ideas. We meet Einstein’s family, but we do not see him reading the book with his family (lost opportunity, or too much on the nose?). But we do thus get a justification for the subtitle (which is otherwise a contemporary cliche for research obsession) and the basis for a playful approach to the story that has Kafka at one point as the Cheshire Cat!

The book is like a focused biography of a year in the life of Einstein, told with much humor and energy, bringing some insight to non-scientists with contemporary language and easy to understand analogies. Entertaining! Do I understand The Theory of Relativity, really? Well, I’m an English teacher. Maybe neither Kafka and Einstein are completely accessible to the general public. They get reduced to memes. Bu this book takes us out of meme-level and helps us see why they were so great I was lost in a bit of the science, but liked the attempt to make connections between these two guys. It's less about Kafka, of course, so it deals more with scientific squabbles Einstein was having, and imagines a conversation with Euclid.

*Reading should be disruptive, Kafka said, and Einstein would agree that physics should be the same.

*I like it that Einstein’s wife Mileva is asked about her her contributions to her hubby's work. She was herself a scientist, who did most of the kid care, not surprisingly, in 1911, putting off her work for his meteoric rise.

*I was reminded of playwright Tom Stoppard’s Travesties about Zurich in 1917 when three historic figures were present: James Joyce, Lenin, and Tristan Tzara. Ken: send it to Stoppard, in appreciation; maybe he will adapt this!? Why not you?!

Thanks to Net Galley, Bloomsbury Publishing and the author for an early look!

The artwork was wonderful. I got lost in the back and forth writing and maybe it just isn't my typical read so I wasn't fully invested. I found parts interesting and did learn some but was not overall thrilled

I love the loose sketch and watercolor art style in "Einstein in Kafkaland" as it is easy on the eyes. The consistent color palette also makes the reading cohesive.

The narrator is '"famed skeleton who graces the famed astronomical close in Prague" and he is a cheeky character unto himself. He tells of a possible history of a specific time period (1911 to 1912) where two great minds, Einstein and Kafka, in two different fields will emerge with breakthrough ideas that will have lasting impact: Kafka in literature and Einstein in physics.

Admittedly, I found FranzKafka more interesting in this speculative history of Einstein in his Prague years. Einstein, here, is likable but I found him hard to relate to because much of his dialogue is related to his theories so it sometimes feels like reading a legal paper with circular twisting legal jargon. I do like that Mileva gets a chance to address her contributions to Einstein's famous theory. That was a highlight for me even though I know that history (and Einstein) will not treat her well, but that's another story for another time.

Kafka is easier to relate to because he is sort of where many of us are now in that we are struggling to get by, the has his routine, he has a job that his father wanted him to take. He is getting by but his mind is always active. He is stuck in the new industry of insurance and he wants to write literature that shakes up the reader.

In 1912 as it is today, quirky books are a hard sell, or so I've seen on booktube.

Anyway, it makes empathize with Kafka in a way that I don't connect with Einstein. Also, I loved Kafka as the Cheshire cat. I think he would have approved.

The science flew over my head but my son read it when he had some down time. He likes art and science and he enjoyed how science is portrayed in a lively and ALIVE way and of course, "Euclid was awesome." He's not an Einstein fan but he came out liking Einstein more after reading it. Like me, he also liked the bits of surrounding history that grounds the time period, like the theft of the Mona Lisa and the rumblings of problems in Russia.

In its 224 pages, it packs a lot of information and ideas. I had to read it slowly and mostly because of the science, but it was a great read. I loved the format and the style.