Home › Classics › Amerika: The Missing Person: A New Translation, Based on the Restored Text

Amerika: The Missing Person: A New Translation, Based on the Restored Text

by Franz Kafka

A young immigrant’s unsettled journey through America

Regular price $16.48 USD
Regular price $27.47 USD Sale price $16.48 USD
Save 40%

Paperback New

Delivery to your door
In stock·Dispatches in 1–2 business days
Standard shipping* from $4.35
Standard shipping transit* 5–8 business days after dispatch

Faster options are available.

Rates and delivery estimates depend on your destination and item quantity. Estimates are informational only; the final shipping method and rate are selected at checkout.

Secure checkout
American Express Apple Pay DiscoverGoogle Pay Mastercard PayPalVisa
30-day eligible returns Returns & refunds policy

AlbakiReads Editorial

A young immigrant’s unsettled journey through America

Karl Rossmann is sent to America by his parents after an incident involving a housemaid, with the expectation that he will make a fresh start. The novel follows his encounters with reversals and unusual adventures in a country presented as a land of opportunity. Kafka began the work in 1912, but it remained unfinished; the final completed chapter dates to 1914. After Kafka’s death, Max Brod edited the manuscript for its 1927 publication. This edition is described as a new translation based on the restored text, and is titled with both Amerika and The Missing Person.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in Kafka’s fiction and classic literature.
  • Readers curious about stories of migration, dislocation, and the promise of opportunity.
  • Readers interested in unfinished novels and their publication history.

Themes

Migration and displacementOpportunity and expectationUncertainty and reversalUnfinished manuscripts and literary history

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

From the author of The Metamorphosis and The Trial and one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century, his first--and funniest--novel.

Amerika tells the story of the young Karl Rossmann who, after an incident involving a housemaid, is banished by his parents to America. Expected to redeem himself in this magical land of opportunity, young Karl is swept up instead in a whirlwind of dizzying reversals, strange escapades, and picaresque adventures.

Kafka began writing what he had entitled Der Verschollene (The Missing Person) in 1912 and wrote the last completed chapter in 1914. But it wasn't until 1927, three years after his death, that Max Brod, Kafka's friend and literary executor, edited the unfinished manuscript and published it as Amerika.
Shipping & returnsShipping options, delivery timing, and our return policy.

In-stock items normally dispatch within 1–2 business days. The ZIP-code estimator on this page is informational only; the final shipping method, price, and availability are confirmed at checkout for your full order.

For the initial delivery estimate we use these transit windows after dispatch: Standard 5–8 business days, Expedited 2–4 business days, and Priority 1–2 business days. Holiday delays are not included.

Eligible items can be returned within 30 days in accordance with our return policy.

Customer reviews