Janouch was the son of a colleague of Kafka's at the Workers' Insurance Institute, who once brought his son to Kafka because he was writing poetry. Kafka welcomed the young man with great kindness, and they often met to discuss various literary topics. After a quarter of a century, Janouch has now written a memoir based on the notes he took during these conversations. He sent the manuscript to Max Brod, who declared it authentic based on the content and form of the discussions. It is undoubtedly clear that the published conversations are based on real discussions, although their phrasing likely received a more definitive formulation during the subsequent stylization than Kafka may have originally given them. Nevertheless, Janouch's book should be regarded as a valuable biographical source.