Kafka's most optimistic toned book, a fantasy version of America that lives on in our ideas, possibility. ( )

Another of Kafka's unfinished works. A lot like David Copperfield, from what i read of it anyway the entire middle-third is a bit of a blur because i could not bare reading it properly and skimmed most of it.

You know those tv programs, mostly comedies or comedy-dramas, the ones that make you cringe? Those horribly uncomfortable social situations that make you squirm in your seat? Well thats how this made me feel.
I have a particularly tender spot for that sort of thing, i really.... can't stand it. So i suppose i should applaud Kafka, as i've never experienced that cringiness through the written form, i've read Copperfield, Wuthering Heights, The Dram Shop by Emile Zola, 120 Days of Sodom, and many others which have made me feel uncomfortable for one reason or another but nothing quite in this way.

As i've said it has a very similar outline to David Copperfield with its rather innocent protagonist that keeps getting taken advantage of. The story's not bad although it is incredibly random. And there's some of the battles with those in power seen in the Castle but in very minor ways. Also Kafka's ability to suddenly show a situation in a new light, that i really loved in the Castle, is also there, again only to a small degree.

So quality wise not awful, at least the bits i saw from between the fingers over my eyes ;) . Enjoyment-wise i hated it with the heat of a thousand suns :# . So obviously my rating is based on the former :P . ( )

An absolutely wonderful meander into a more positive and poetic side of Kafka and a story about fringe-life. Very compelling reading, and the missing sections are almost as intriguing as the words that are written. Brilliant. ( )

After a sexual encounter with a servant girl, teen-aged Karl is shipped off to America by his parents to live with his uncle. But his uncle soon turns his back on Karl, who is left to fend for himself. Karl is shortly joined on his journey for employment by two other immigrants - one from France and one from Ireland - who prove to be false friends that lead Karl to increasingly more difficult problems.

Like The Castle, this Kafka work made me feel pretty dumb. I kept feeling like there was something I was missing because I wasn't really getting a big picture takeaway from it. As far as I'm aware of, Kafka never spent any time in America himself, which is perhaps why this book doesn't feel in the least bit like a commentary on America - either good or bad. Likewise, despite what critical readings say, I didn't get a sense of the absurdities of bureaucracy in this book like in other Kafka works. True, lots of ridiculous things happen to Karl, but there doesn't seem to be a "force" causing these things to happen, it just seems like a variety of ill-mannered people acting cruelly. Not much for a takeaway message.

The audio book was narrated by George Guidall, who also narrated the copy of The Castle that I listened to sometime ago. Guidall is okay as a narrator -- he does have a good variation in his voice to indicate emotions, but he lacks very clear distinctions between character voices and doesn't even attempt the various accents that should be present.

All in all, this was a bit of a disappointing read. I'm glad I finally got to it, but I would steer Kafka newbies to The Metamorphosis or The Trial rather than Amerika. ( )

Just getting into Kafka. He seems to be offering one large commentary on our potential lack of agency in the world. ( )