Experienced protagonist in Kafka novel (4)
I believe the answer is:
knew
'experienced protagonist' is the definition.
'knew' can be an answer for 'experienced' (knowing is a kind of experiencing). I am unsure of the 'protagonist' bit.
'kafka novel' is the wordplay.
'kafka' becomes 'k' (this might be a standard abbreviation I've not previously seen).
'novel' becomes 'new' (novel means new or fresh).
'k'+'new'='KNEW'
'in' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for knew that I've seen before include "Was cognizant of" , "Was cognisant or aware of" , "Had learnt; sounds like modern" , "Was conscious of" , "Recognised" .)