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A review by codubh
Amerika by Franz Kafka
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
About as good as an incomplete novel can be, it's a shame the intervening chapters between chapters 7 and 8 were never completed. You can guess at some of the goings on from what's referred to in the final chapter, but it would have been good to see how Karl escapes from Delamarche et al .
There are elements that are similar to The Trial, which I enjoyed, but Karl's frustrations seem to be more a result of how he interacts with people rather than being faced with an inscrutable bureaucracy no one really understands. As a result it's more realistic than The Trial, though there are still the telltale absurd elements that make it a Kafka novel. What I liked about those events, however, was knowing that Kafka mostly wrote it based on the experiences of his emigrant relatives, and so a lot of the plainly ridiculous things Karl witnesses - the election campaign, the business of the hotel, the large house outside of New York - could all very easily be the exaggerated tales of a cousin who'd been to that strange new country.
Definitely recommend if you enjoy Kafka's writing in general, though I think you should be familiar with his style beforehand to get full enjoyment from it.
There are elements that are similar to The Trial, which I enjoyed, but Karl's frustrations seem to be more a result of how he interacts with people rather than being faced with an inscrutable bureaucracy no one really understands. As a result it's more realistic than The Trial, though there are still the telltale absurd elements that make it a Kafka novel. What I liked about those events, however, was knowing that Kafka mostly wrote it based on the experiences of his emigrant relatives, and so a lot of the plainly ridiculous things Karl witnesses - the election campaign, the business of the hotel, the large house outside of New York - could all very easily be the exaggerated tales of a cousin who'd been to that strange new country.
Definitely recommend if you enjoy Kafka's writing in general, though I think you should be familiar with his style beforehand to get full enjoyment from it.