Amerika by Franz Kafka Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Amerika
Book Review: They've all come to look for America....
Summary: 2 Stars
Franz Kafka's 'Amerika' started off, to me, with a great premise, but in the end I found the tale less than entertaining.
Karl Rossman, a teenage boy shipped off to America by his parents following an 'indiscretion' with a servant girl, finds himself in the company of an American uncle, who quickly shuns him for accepting the hospitality of one of the uncle's friends.
Rossman then 'disappears' into the poor working class landscape of America, where he encounters many less than scrupulous characters.
Much of this novel is devoted to the this 'disappearance', though the action, to me, never quite moved along...and made the story quite stale to me...
While I have not read any other works by Franz Kafka, I hope that other novels were better paced and executed. His prose is enjoyable, just not very 'lively' in this offering.
Book Review: Unfinished First Novel
Summary: 2 Stars
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.Book Review: Yes, It's Very Funny, But...
Summary: 3 Stars
How can one give this work five stars? Kafka's youth and inexperience are not only revealed through this entertaining but flawed novel, but are also mirrored in the novel's protagonist. But if this work is five stars, what do we give The Trial and The Castle?
I especially enjoyed the dreamlike surreal atmosphere of this work. Page after page, I experienced vague flutters of deja vu, which I couldn't immediately put my finger on. As it turns out, I had experienced many of the progatonist's experiences before - in my dreams! My recurring dreams include long journeys, lost in the bowels of a huge ship (as in "The Stoker"). Also, I seem to come across two vagrants who are omnipresent, guiding my actions, but somehow keeping me prisoner at the same time. Amerika has this too.
The imagery associated with America is hilarious, because it is so far off the mark, yet so true at the same time (in order to cross the street, the protagonist must climb through moving vehicles!).
As far as Kafka is concerned, a "lite" read. You only need nine-tenths of your brain to read this one (as opposed to every single brain cell for his other two incomplete novels).
Book Review: a powerfull book, it moved me in ways you can't understand!!
Summary: 5 Stars
the book was good i like kafka. happy happy joy joy that book gave me nightmares blah blah blah. thats quite pecular the fly married the bumble bee.Book Review: comedy?
Summary: 3 Stars
I read this book because it was described as Kafka's comedic masterpiece. However, I did not find it all that funny. In this book, Kafka's wry sense of humor seems somewhat muted. Most of the "humor" originates from the absurd situations that the spineless narrator Karl Rossman finds himself in. Throughout the book Karl dutifully works and looks for work. Many of his struggles can be likened to those of a present day liberal arts graduate (i.e. myself). While Karl is very conscientious, no one seems to notice or even care. This novel is more optimistic than Kafka's others. Maybe it is for this reason that I felt it fell flat. I understand that Karl was not supposed to be Leslie Nielson. Nevertheless, I often found myself, instead of guffawing or even snickering, saying "well that is peculiar." It is in this sense that I felt that the book failed. If you just want to read it because you have already read The Trial and The Castle I would not dissuade you. However, do not expect anything earth shattering.