Amerika

Rating:
Summary: Unfinished First Novel
Review: This novel was unfinished and needed some cleaning up. We never learn how he comes to leave Robinson and Delamarche, for instance, or whatever becomes of his money the manageress is holding for him. It is obvious that the work was not ready for publication. That said, for those who are interested in reading Kafka the book is light and amusing at times. But overall, the situations Karl finds himself in are often frustratingly impossible and the characters are not well developed. Karl, the main character makes an excellent argument for the Stoker in Chapter One, but can't seem to find words for his own defense at the Hotel. There are enough inconsistancies to drive an analytical reader crazy and probably Kafka wouldn't have allowed publication in this unfinished form.

Rating:
Summary: One frustrating set piece after another
Review: While others have called Amerika a comedic piece, I found the protagonist's, Karl Rossman, behavior and situations frustrating and aggravating. But being Kafka's first novel, I see him testing out a thesis that dominates much of his work: the individual suffering at the caprice of the rest of society.

And indeed, Rossman suffers! Seemingly everyone is out to take advantage of him and despite his desire to cling to "virtue," (despite his less then virtuous behavior that landed him on the boat bound for Amerika), he is treated like a second-hand person without any savvy to cope with the world around him.

While reading the book, I kept asking myself, why is Rossman putting up with these situations? Why is he so timid to take action for himself? Why is he letting himself get bowled over by these rogues? I read the book all the way through, but several times I was tempted to put the damn thing down and not read any more.

But when I put it in the perspective I first mentioned, that it would become Kafka's theme that the individual is powerless against the societal forces around him, then I can see the characters as allegories rather than real people. And then we see Rossman not as the victim who is innocent, but we see him as the hypocrite that he is.

Still, the book is frustrating to read -- not because it's difficult, but simply because I found it impossible to identify with any character on a level where I wanted anyone to win. By the end of the book, I didn't give a hoot about Rossman and concluded that he got what he deserved.

One final note: Kafka wrote this manuscript without ever visiting the U.S. So his scenarios are based on what he thought the U.S. was like. In some cases, he was quite accurate in his portrayals, but in others, he was way off.

If you want to read Kafka, save this one for last. Read his other material first as it is far better.