One of The Guardian Best Books of 2013, chosen by Colm Toibin "Most impressive is Stach's recounting of the creation of his subject's writings... Stach's own writing is wonderfully expressive."
Publishers Weekly (starred review) "A scrupulous, discriminating, and highly instructive account of Kafka's life."
Robert Alter, New Republic "[S]uperbly tempered... [T]hrough this robustly determined unearthing he rescues Kafka from the unearthliness of his repute... Shelley Frisch, Stach's heroic American translator, movingly reproduces his intended breadth and pace and tone... In this honest and honorable biography there is no trace of the Kafkaesque; but in it you may find a crystal granule of the Kafka who was."
Cynthia Ozick, New Republic "Stach aims to tell us all that can be known about [Kafka], avoiding the fancies and extrapolations of earlier biographers. The result is an enthralling synthesis, one that reads beautifully... I can't say enough about the liveliness and richness of Stach's book... Every page of this book feels excited, dynamic, utterly alive."
Michael Dirda, Washington Post Book World "Stach's is a splendid effort and will be hard to surpass."
William H. Gass, Harper's Magazine "A masterpiece of inspired biographical writing."
Choice "Probing... Essential reading."
Booklist (starred review) "Magnificent."
Die Zeit "Stach develops the various elements that play a role in Kafka's life brilliantly."
Der Spiegel "The first great biography of Franz Kafka ... exciting and instructive from the first to the last page."
Tagesanzeiger "This extraordinary biography fills the empty spaces between Kafka's own writings and the writings of friends, family, and contemporaries with so much empathy and imagination that one can't put it down."
Frankfurter Rundschau "[M]onumental... [A] superb English-language translation by Shelly Frisch ... now reprinted in a handsome paperback by Princeton... In this first volume, Stach sifts through that rubble with huge amounts of energy and discretion (and Frisch follows him without a misstep; it feels like exactly the book I read ten years ago in its original language)... His letters and journals are marshaled with sometimes breathtaking ingenuity, and the sheer scope of the work allows Stach to be expansive when painting his backgrounds... Always in these recountings, Stach is searching for his elusive subject, trying
as all previous biographers have tried, though none so well
to hear Kafka's strange, singular voice in the noise... Kafka: The Decisive Years was greeted with a loud chorus of praise when it first appeared in English, and the passage of almost a decade has cast no doubt on that verdict. Princeton has re-issued this classic so that it can stand next to the following volume, Kafka: The Years of Insight, newly published in hardcover. No one interested in Kafka (or, by almost inevitable extension, 20th century literature) should miss either."
Steve Donoghue, Open Letters Monthly "[F]lawlessly translated... [A] wonderfully intelligent and perceptive portrait of a uniquely powerful writer."
PD Smith, Guardian "Stach reads the work and the life with minute care and sympathy. He has a deep understanding of the world that Kafka came from and this is matched by an intelligence and tact about the impulse behind the work itself."
Colm Toibin, Irish Independent "[T]he definitive biography."
Jonathon Sturgeon, Flavorwire "Superbly translated from German by Shelley Frisch... Illuminating facts and intelligent commentary... The three volumes are so carefully composed and densely woven
blending history, literary analysis, psychological insights, quotes and commentary from others
that it would be practically impossible to produce an abridged version in a single volume."
Alexander Adams, Spiked Review