Amerika: The Missing Person
by: Franz Kafka; Translated by Mark
Published by: Schocken Books
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Reviewed by Mayra Calvani
(A New Translation, Based on the Restored Text )
Amerika is the story of Karl Rossmann, a German boy of 16 who is sent to America after he gets involved with a servant girl—much older than him—and gets her pregnant. The book relates the unusual experiences of the young immigrant protagonist in the ”˜new’ country, a country that is both open and claustrophobic.
Karl stays with a rich uncle until precarious circumstances force him to move out. Once more, he finds himself cast out. Not too long afterwards he hooks up with two crooks who end up stealing from him and making him lose his new job.
Amerika was never finished by Kafka so the story abruptly stops and doesn’t offer a conclusion. Never having read Kafka before, Amerika left me disappointed and without any desire to read his other works. I found the dialogue stilted, the very long paragraphs tiring, and the silly plot distracting. I’m usually not put off by long paragraphs and heavy prose ala Garcia Marquez or Saramago, but in this case Kafka’s style left me not only indifferent, but bored.
Above all, I wasn’t able to connect with any of the characters and Karl, if anything, is far from being sympathetic, not because he’s ”˜lost’ and seems to wander aimlessly from one situation to another, but because he simply lacks charm. Since I don’t speak German, I’m not able to comment on the translation itself. I was, however, able to appreciate his symbolism and satiric elements—like the Statue of Liberty holding a sword instead of a torch, or our protagonist having to climb over moving cars in order to cross the street. It’s interesting to note that in spite of Kafka’s criticism of America, he never visited the country.
Fans and students of the author will find this book valuable but this is certainly no novel for a Kafka “virgin.”. If anything, it should be read after his completed works.
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Author’s Web site: http://www.Kafka.org
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