Santiago Alba Rico pairs Kafka with Beatrix Potter in new essay on literature
Madrid-born philosopher Santiago Alba Rico has published 'Elogio de la literatura' (Akal, 2026), a book that pairs unexpected authors across chapters: Kafka with Beatrix Potter, Hergé with Melville, Dostoevsky with Hasek, Dickens with Cervantes, Carson McCullers with Mary Shelley, and Jane Austen with Marcel Proust. Alba Rico argues that counterintuitive comparisons reveal specificities and differences. The essay explores what reading means, aiming to provoke a desire to read adventure books and to walk inventively through the isthmuses linking fiction and reality. The work is described as a singular project that the philosopher spent years developing.
Key facts
- Santiago Alba Rico published 'Elogio de la literatura' with Akal in 2026.
- The book pairs Kafka with Beatrix Potter, Hergé with Melville, Dostoevsky with Hasek, Dickens with Cervantes, McCullers with Shelley, and Austen with Proust.
- Alba Rico states that comparison, even counterintuitive, reveals differences and specificities.
- The essay aims to provoke a desire to read adventure books and explore the connection between fiction and reality.
- Alba Rico is a Madrid-born philosopher.
- The book is described as a singular work years in the making.
- Each chapter focuses on the joy of discovery and rereading.
- The publication is an essay on literature.
Entities
Artists
- Santiago Alba Rico
- Franz Kafka
- Beatrix Potter
- Hergé
- Herman Melville
- Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Jaroslav Hašek
- Charles Dickens
- Miguel de Cervantes
- Carson McCullers
- Mary Shelley
- Jane Austen
- Marcel Proust
Institutions
- Akal
Locations
- Madrid
- Spain