Amerika: The Man Who Disappeared (Penguin Modern Classics)

'Amerika' is Kafka's first novel, of the three unfinished ones salvaged by Max Brod. First started, is probably more accurate to say. Kafka retained it for many years never feeling entirely satisfied with it, yet never despairing of it either.The writing, for me, is in no way inferior to Kafka's other works, though it's true to say that some of Kafka's trademark themes and methods are not fully developed: sinister overpowering officialdom - the bureaucratic, totalitarian nightmare; convoluted, protracted discourses and dialogues, reasoning against, and propelling forward, the illogical and the absurd.Instead, 'Amerika', like the fabled country itself, offers a more positive outlook - a self-determinism quite in contrast to Kafka's other novels. At least to begin with. Inevitably, things don't proceed in the style of the American Dream exactly. But the ethic of individualism somehow survives. Whether that's ironical or not rather depends on your disposition. The novel halts in the midst of a bizarre domestic situation worthy of Pinter or Beckett theatre. Not without its humour and not entirely desperate. It's a familiar scene for Kafka readers: the ultimate agenda thwarted by the trappings and minutia of quotidian life: the search for a bottle of perfume, the getting of a breakfast.The two fragments following the novel's conclusion, in my opinion, are not of the same quality as the novel itself, though they do, I suppose, offer a glimpse of what Kafka contemplated for later episodes.

Beware, this is unfortunately not the Hofmann translation, contrary to what is claimed on Amazon (at least at the time of my purchase). Comparing any paragraph of this translation, probably by Muir, with Hofmann's version is striking: the latter is much, much better, on a completely different, higher level of language; you should go for that one to appreciate the originality, richness and hilarity of Kafka.

Not his best but as so little of his work survived anyone with an interest in Kafka should read it.

great social statement.loved it

A brilliant read

I had thought that this Kafka story (though I knew it to be incomplete) was more upbeat and less dystopian and fantastical than ‘The Trial’ or ‘The Castle’. Well it turns out that it’s sort of one of those things….If you do think that the protagonist Karl (NB yet another K based name) is moving through a plausible version of the “real” early 20th century America then I would have to direct to look a lot more closely at the description (on the very first page) of what the Statue of Liberty is holding.If you still not convinced then do also consider the somewhat unlikely hiring practices and economics of the ‘Nature Theatre of Oklahoma’ as featured in the book’s last remaining chapter.There are a number of other similarities to ‘The Castle’ and ‘The Trial’, in that it features a protagonist with a K starting part of their name who seems to tumble into one life changing piece of misfortune after another (though in this story, unlike the other two, he does have slightly more freedom of choice).However what differentiates this tale from the other two is that Karl does often seem to find a new hope after each disaster. It is also understood that, while uncompleted, Kafka did intend to leave Karl in a somewhat more upbeat situation.So Amerika but not America, Kafka and Karl but not K, and more hope than the usual Kafkaesque utter despair.

A good read with the usual Kafka intrigue. Although not five star like the Trial I would recomend this to anyone who enjoys something slightly out of the ordinary.

Initially, it seems as though this book is not as accomplished as the author's more famous novels, but I think on reflection, I would rather say this book is just different to 'The Castle' and 'The Trial'. It is about a 15 year old called Karl Rossman who gets packed off to America on his own after a sexual misdemeanour with a servant in his native Prague.Alienation is a key theme in this. Despite some outrageous and even unnatural fortune, Karl can never fit in anywhere or find his milieu. Just as the reader feels he is about to achieve something, there is a sudden drop in Karl's fortunes. Constant unfulfilled hope makes the book rather antagonising.Although on first acquaintance not as Kafkaesque as the other two novels, the sheer suddenness and arbitrariness with which Karl's fortunes rise and fall is unsettling - as if when reading it, you are locked in a dream where you cannot reach fulfilment. The fact that the novel is unfinished even makes it more disturbing - again as if in a dream where you never get to know the end, but wake up instead. Karl, as a 15 year old, is considerably more innocent than K. and Joseph K. Here there is not even the sense that the main character might have done something in the past that he can't remember, for which he is now paying the price. Karl, is in fact a far more attractive character (at least in my opinion) than K. and Joseph K, and the things that happen to him are harder for the reader to bear.The book is ineffective as a portrait of American society, and most of the characters apart from Karl don't quite feel as though they are real. It also has no ending and the final chapter seems to bear little relation to what immediately precedes it. The book has these fairly major shortcomings - but here the fact that the book isn't quite as polished as Kafka's others actually makes it more disturbing. I'm not sure these shortcomings are actually shortcomings, but rather actually increase the impact of the novel. To what extent Kafka here realised what he wanted, I don't know.Worth reading if you're not too depressed.