The Man Who Disappeared (Amerika) | Kafka

"Karl, a bright sixteen-year-old, whose poor parents had sent him to America because a maid had seduced him and borne his child, stood on the ship's deck. As the vessel slowed, entering New York harbor, he saw the Statue of Liberty, which he had been watching for some time, as if the sun's rays had suddenly intensified its illumination, and as if the statue's sword-bearing arm had risen high in the final moments, while a swift wind enveloped it." This particular novel could open a new path to understanding Kafka, a path of simple, compassionate humanity, and allow the two great novels (The Trial and The Castle) to begin to exert their influence, from this point and from within themselves, without any interpretation. It is clear to me from the letters and critical articles I receive that the unparalleled and awe-inspiring sublimity of Kafka's works will always be understood and loved more. In the novel "The Man Who Disappeared" (America), Max Brod accurately and extensively describes the world of work in the modern era, a world that grinds everything into dust, allowing no breaks, only a succession of working hands. This novel is one of the international novels that reveal modern industrial society with keen insight, foresight, and prophecy.