Amerika
by Franz Kafka · first published 1927
42% recommend58% neutral
Why HN recommends it
An enjoyable, fast-moving entry point into Kafka's work, often read as an early or first novel. It offers an under-appreciated route for readers looking to explore Kafka beyond The Trial.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
"Franz Kafka's diaries and letters suggest that his fascination with America grew out of a desire to break away from his native Prague, even if only in his imagination. Kafka died before he could finish what he liked to call his ''American novel," but he clearly entitled it Der Verschollene ("The Missing Person") in a letter to his fiancee, Felice Bauer, in 1912. Kafka began writing the novel that fall and wrote the last completed chapter in 1914, but it wasn't until 1927, three years after his death, that Amerika - the title that Kafka's friend and literary executor Max Brod gave his edited v
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…really struggling readings for me and some incomplete (I never got to the very end of The Trial). His short stories, I read cover to cover in one sitting, and they were very enjoyable readings. I also read Amerika (his first novel) cover to cover pretty fast and it was very enjoyable too. His other works, I find very challenging for reasons unknown to me. Kafka has a certain literary style that feels very enjoyable,…
on “Who Owns Kafka? (2011)” ↗…one month. And the year before that, it was everything by Denton Welch in one month. But - in 2009 - see, this was very very dangerous - I read everything by Franz Kafka in one month. I started with "Amerika." It was August. I read The Castle. ## READING I read The Trial. I read all the short stories. I read The Stoker, even though it's (verbatim) the 1st chapter of Amerika - because I really enjoyed…
on “_why's site updated again” ↗…"The Trial" is the conventional starter Kafka novel. It's the only one with an ending. "The Castle" is my favorite. A good entry if you think you already understand Kafka (you may be surprised). "Amerika", or "The Man Who Disappeared", is an under-appreciated gem but should be read 3rd because it's the least complete and you'll need the practice appreciating unfinished novels.
on “Kafka: the Impossible Biography” ↗I've wondered if Kafka would have the same reputation had he finished his writings. I read Amerika, and though I enjoyed the book my strongest memory of it was the sudden shock I felt when I realized it was done and the last 40 pages were an afterword. It's hard to imagine an actual ending that produced…
on “Kafka in Pieces” ↗…"Stop overthinking!" to the protagonist. Something I can relate to. Siddharta by Hermann Hesse. Helped me understand that a perfect life is a collection of ups and downs and that one must accept it all. Amerika by Franz Kafka. Could relate to the protagonist because people take advantage of his naivety. Factfulness by Hans Rosling. Made me see the world in a less pessimistic way.
on “Ask HN: What did you read in 2025?” ↗IIRC Franz Kafka joked about Americans rolling through national parks in their automobiles in Amerika https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amerika_(novel), which he wrote in the 1910s.
on “The Business of Scenery: Why America’s national parks need new management” ↗_why returns, as whimsical and obcure as ever. this was a great write-up, and now I want to read the book. My favourite quote from the book: What if Amerika [the novel by kafka] was only written for 32 bit PowerPC? I sometimes wonder the same sort of thing, when crafting software for iOS or other platforms doomed to obsolecence by the exigencies of capitalism…
on “Why did why the lucky stiff quit? (2013)” ↗…some thought that disagrees: > To program any more was pointless. My programs would never live as long > as [Kafka’s] The Trial. A computer will never live as long as The Trial. > … What if Amerika was only written for 32-bit Power PC? Can an unfinished > program be reconstructed? Can I write a program and go, “Ah, well, you > get the gist of it.” … But no. It wasn’t written for 32-bit Power…
on “Going “Write-Only”” ↗On the other hand if Max Brod had listened to Kafka we wouldn't have The Trial, The Castle, or Amerika along with much of the authors other work.
on “Terry Pratchett's unfinished novels destroyed by steamroller” ↗Now that I think about it, one Kafka environment which does indeed fit the Dwarf Fortress description really well would be the hotel in "Amerika", especially when Karl works as an elevator attendant there. It's exactly the sort of thing you'd expect to happen to an elevator attendant in DF (maybe except for the lack of disastrous magma leakage…
on “Gamifying Franz Kafka” ↗…Woolf's To The Lighthouse, AA Milne's Now We Are Six, Hemingway's Men Without Women, Faulkner's Mosquitoes, Christie's The Big Four, Wharton's Twilight Sleep, Hesse's Steppenwolf (in German), Kafka's Amerika (in German), and Proust's Le Temps retrouvé (in French). Damn, what a powerhouse year in literature. And look at that, my favorite novel (To the Lighthouse) is about to be public domain! The Holmes…
on “January 1, 2023 is Public Domain Day: Works from 1927 are open to all” ↗>Franz Kafka, Amerika Looking forward to someone taking AI/ChatGPT and finishing the unfinished book.
on “January 1, 2023 is Public Domain Day: Works from 1927 are open to all” ↗…author Franz Kafka died from tuberculosis in 1924, he told friend Max Brod to burn all of his work. However, between 1925 and 1935 Brod published his collection of works including The Trial, The Castle and Amerika." Because he told his friend Brod before, that he will ask him to destroy his works once he dies - and Brod told him clearly, that if he will do that, he will refuse and publish it anyway. So rather…
on “Gabriel García Márquez: Sons publish novel that late author wanted destroyed” ↗