Amerika

Like Kafka's later novels "The Trial" and "The Castle," his first novel "America" also remains unfinished. Explicitly inspired by Dickens' "Oliver Twist" and "David Copperfield," the novel was written between 1911 and 1914; however, during Kafka's lifetime, only the opening chapter "The Stoker" was published, with the complete text released only in 1927. The story follows 17-year-old Karl Rossmann, who is sent to America by his parents after he gets a maid pregnant. Initially taken in by a wealthy uncle, he is later cast out and struggles to make a living as a lift boy and eventually as a servant. In addition to the main text, the volume includes two fragments that depict Rossmann's encounters with the singer Brunelda and his journey to the fantastically beautiful nature theater of Oklahoma.