Amerika, by Franz Kafka
1913: First chapter appeared as a short story
1924: Franz Kafka dies of complications from tuberculosis
1927: Amerika published posthumously
Translator: Michael Hofmann
Print length: 240 pages
Publisher: ePenguin
Quick summary: a naïve, impulsive, and generous German youth is sent to the US for creating a scandal. The story starts not long before he gets off the ship, and continues on as he tries to find his way in a new country, where every bad luck is offset by good luck is offset by bad, etc., but does generally have a downward spiral.
Important note: the manuscript was not finished.
As a result, some versions have it where the main character, Karl Rossman, is almost sixteen, and in others as almost seventeen. Kafka originally had him start as sixteen, but then crossed it out and wrote fifteen. I think that if Kafka had not died before finishing the work he would have changed it back again, as several things in the story make more sense that way.
Also, had he been able to finish and revise, the latter part of the book would surely have been better. There is a sharp divergence where the book becomes more and more unrealistic and the characters, while not doing a complete 180 on their previously established characterization, at least make an oblique turn.
Complaints: mainly what I said above. There is a sharp divergence in realism and portrayal. I like satire, (limited) absurdism, etc., but not when it jars with the rest of the book. For example, in the part of the book before the divergence Karl gets kicked out of his uncle’s house and makes two traveling companions. I thought this part was well done; none of them were overplayed. His two companions were a bit dishonest, a bit down-on-their-luck, and willing to take a little advantage of Karl’s inexperience and relative helplessness, but not out-and-out scoundrels or accomplished tricksters. Karl himself, though often too trusting, was not a bumbling greenhorn looking up with wide eyes, and watches warily until he decides they have gone too far.
So far so good, but that’s what makes it frustrating in the second part, when he meets up with them again. Gone is the balance: now the first of his two former traveling companions is a veritable fiend, the second is abjectly pathetic. So abject that even though you want to kick him, you probably couldn’t do so without going to Hell. This would be fine if they were new characters. But even that wouldn’t do any good, because Karl himself is out-of-character. They enslave him, and in what is probably the quickest case of Stockholm Syndrome ever recorded, he falls right in with it.
However, I feel guilty writing those complaints, because the author had not had time to revise, and in fact in his will he requested that his work be burned unread.
I am glad that this request was not honored, it would be a shame if it had been destroyed. Which brings me to my next section:
Things I liked: Karl is a very sympathetic character. He is impulsive, brash, and prone to snap judgments, but almost always in favor of people. If he hears an injustice he becomes immediately aggrieved on that person’s behalf, showing in fact more anger for them than he ever does for himself. He is also trusting, at least at first, believing whatever people have to say about themselves. As the book goes on, particularly after he is kicked out of his uncle’s house and starts having to rely on his own judgment, he does become smarter and wiser.
One scene that struck me particularly is when he is being fired from his job as a lift-boy, through no fault of his own. It is entirely believable yet infuriating, with everything he says in his defense somehow making him look worse. Ironically, it is his honesty and kindness that got him into real trouble, as no one believes that anyone would actually be honest or kind and that therefore he must be hiding something really bad.
Overall, it is a story that shows the struggles of someone trying to make sense of a strange place while behaving decently and honorably, but how fruitless these struggles can be in the face of someone with more power, knowledge, and authority.
Surprisingly (considering his other works, such as The Metamorphosis) Franz Kafka had indicated to friends that the book was to have a happy ending, with Karl being reunited with his parents. So perhaps all of his struggles would have borne fruit in the end, after all.
My rating: 4.5/5 for first part, 2/5 for second.
1924: Franz Kafka dies of complications from tuberculosis
1927: Amerika published posthumously
Translator: Michael Hofmann
Print length: 240 pages
Publisher: ePenguin
Quick summary: a naïve, impulsive, and generous German youth is sent to the US for creating a scandal. The story starts not long before he gets off the ship, and continues on as he tries to find his way in a new country, where every bad luck is offset by good luck is offset by bad, etc., but does generally have a downward spiral.
Important note: the manuscript was not finished.
As a result, some versions have it where the main character, Karl Rossman, is almost sixteen, and in others as almost seventeen. Kafka originally had him start as sixteen, but then crossed it out and wrote fifteen. I think that if Kafka had not died before finishing the work he would have changed it back again, as several things in the story make more sense that way.
Also, had he been able to finish and revise, the latter part of the book would surely have been better. There is a sharp divergence where the book becomes more and more unrealistic and the characters, while not doing a complete 180 on their previously established characterization, at least make an oblique turn.
Complaints: mainly what I said above. There is a sharp divergence in realism and portrayal. I like satire, (limited) absurdism, etc., but not when it jars with the rest of the book. For example, in the part of the book before the divergence Karl gets kicked out of his uncle’s house and makes two traveling companions. I thought this part was well done; none of them were overplayed. His two companions were a bit dishonest, a bit down-on-their-luck, and willing to take a little advantage of Karl’s inexperience and relative helplessness, but not out-and-out scoundrels or accomplished tricksters. Karl himself, though often too trusting, was not a bumbling greenhorn looking up with wide eyes, and watches warily until he decides they have gone too far.
So far so good, but that’s what makes it frustrating in the second part, when he meets up with them again. Gone is the balance: now the first of his two former traveling companions is a veritable fiend, the second is abjectly pathetic. So abject that even though you want to kick him, you probably couldn’t do so without going to Hell. This would be fine if they were new characters. But even that wouldn’t do any good, because Karl himself is out-of-character. They enslave him, and in what is probably the quickest case of Stockholm Syndrome ever recorded, he falls right in with it.
However, I feel guilty writing those complaints, because the author had not had time to revise, and in fact in his will he requested that his work be burned unread.
I am glad that this request was not honored, it would be a shame if it had been destroyed. Which brings me to my next section:
Things I liked: Karl is a very sympathetic character. He is impulsive, brash, and prone to snap judgments, but almost always in favor of people. If he hears an injustice he becomes immediately aggrieved on that person’s behalf, showing in fact more anger for them than he ever does for himself. He is also trusting, at least at first, believing whatever people have to say about themselves. As the book goes on, particularly after he is kicked out of his uncle’s house and starts having to rely on his own judgment, he does become smarter and wiser.
One scene that struck me particularly is when he is being fired from his job as a lift-boy, through no fault of his own. It is entirely believable yet infuriating, with everything he says in his defense somehow making him look worse. Ironically, it is his honesty and kindness that got him into real trouble, as no one believes that anyone would actually be honest or kind and that therefore he must be hiding something really bad.
Overall, it is a story that shows the struggles of someone trying to make sense of a strange place while behaving decently and honorably, but how fruitless these struggles can be in the face of someone with more power, knowledge, and authority.
Surprisingly (considering his other works, such as The Metamorphosis) Franz Kafka had indicated to friends that the book was to have a happy ending, with Karl being reunited with his parents. So perhaps all of his struggles would have borne fruit in the end, after all.
My rating: 4.5/5 for first part, 2/5 for second.