Lovers of Franz K.

PEN International president Sönmez (Stone and Shadow) wrestles with fraught questions of loyalty and legacy in this contemplative literary thriller. In 1968, Ferdy Kaplan is arrested in Berlin for shooting university student Ernest Fischer. Though police initially assume Ferdy’s motive is intellectual jealousy, they soon learn that his intended target was Max Brod, the executor of Franz Kafka’s estate. Ferdy and his girlfriend, Amalya, became devoted to Kafka as teenagers in Istanbul and vehemently opposed Brod’s decision to posthumously publish the late author’s works, including The Trial and Amerika, in violation of his will. In short chapters that combine flashbacks with transcripts of conversations between Ferdy, a police commissioner, a judge, and a prosecutor, Sönmez gradually reveals the underpinnings of Ferdy’s philosophy and its roots in the complicated political dynamics between Germany, France, and Turkey during and after WWII. The narrative ends with a bit of a whimper, and the translation is a mixed bag (the prose sections have the elemental intensity of a fairy tale, while the dialogue clangs), but Sönmez’s sharp thematic layering and concise worldbuilding impress. This is a good bet for mystery readers seeking something off the beaten path. Agent: Nermin Mollaoglu, Kalem Agency. (Apr.)