--- product_id: 8720861 title: "Amerika: The Missing Person: A New Translation, Based on the Restored Text (The Schocken Kafka Library)" price: "NT$800" currency: TWD in_stock: true reviews_count: 11 url: https://www.desertcart.tw/products/8720861-amerika-the-missing-person-a-new-translation-based-on-restored store_origin: TW region: Taiwan --- # Amerika: The Missing Person: A New Translation, Based on the Restored Text (The Schocken Kafka Library) **Price:** NT$800 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** Amerika: The Missing Person: A New Translation, Based on the Restored Text (The Schocken Kafka Library) - **How much does it cost?** NT$800 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.tw](https://www.desertcart.tw/products/8720861-amerika-the-missing-person-a-new-translation-based-on-restored) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description 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. Review: THE MIND OF A MASTER - That Franz Kafka is one of the great modern writers is a general truth. He was a perfectionist and left instructions that all his works be destroyed after his death, but people who understood his talent couldn't let that happen. "Amerika" was a manuscript left unfinished, but in 1927 his friend Max Brod published what he thought was a representation. In the years after there were various attempts to rework the manuscript, and now we have a new translation. Kafka had not visited America, but there was so much information about America in Germany that he set out to compose his "American Novel." It is the story of a young man who is disowned by his family in Prague for an indescretion and forced to immigrate to America. Right away one knows that the novel is going to be unusual because the Statue of Liberty greets the young man with a sword rather than a torch. Without going into all the social and political background, the story itself is spellbinding. There are turns in the plot that couldn't be imagined, and the darkness that Kafka weaves is chilling. From the mind of a master, this is a journey that is hard to forget. Review: I never understand whether we are critiquing a book or the product and delivery, etc. - I like Kafka. I think this novel would have been even better if revised and polished by the author, but that didn't happen. World War I and his early death happened instead. Alas. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #62,787 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #26 in Eastern European Literature (Books) #63 in Absurdist Fiction (Books) #822 in Fiction Satire | | Customer Reviews | 4.3 out of 5 stars 193 Reviews | ## Images ![Amerika: The Missing Person: A New Translation, Based on the Restored Text (The Schocken Kafka Library) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61W723A4V-L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ THE MIND OF A MASTER *by M***M on November 29, 2014* That Franz Kafka is one of the great modern writers is a general truth. He was a perfectionist and left instructions that all his works be destroyed after his death, but people who understood his talent couldn't let that happen. "Amerika" was a manuscript left unfinished, but in 1927 his friend Max Brod published what he thought was a representation. In the years after there were various attempts to rework the manuscript, and now we have a new translation. Kafka had not visited America, but there was so much information about America in Germany that he set out to compose his "American Novel." It is the story of a young man who is disowned by his family in Prague for an indescretion and forced to immigrate to America. Right away one knows that the novel is going to be unusual because the Statue of Liberty greets the young man with a sword rather than a torch. Without going into all the social and political background, the story itself is spellbinding. There are turns in the plot that couldn't be imagined, and the darkness that Kafka weaves is chilling. From the mind of a master, this is a journey that is hard to forget. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I never understand whether we are critiquing a book or the product and delivery, etc. *by A***N on April 27, 2021* I like Kafka. I think this novel would have been even better if revised and polished by the author, but that didn't happen. World War I and his early death happened instead. Alas. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Not Kafka’s Most Important Work But Still Worth Reading *by A***S on April 3, 2022* There is one traditional interpretation of Kafka’s corpus which sees it a spiritual allegory. Thus, the Castle is a extended metaphor of the journey to heaven, the court officials of the Trial are divine beings, etc. I didn’t see this as the focus of his best-known works, but it’s hard to avoid such an interpretation of Amerika. The lower classes slave away in the city of Ramses, the protagonist is welcomed to a paradisal home by performers dressed as angels…it seems clear Kafka meant to say something about the spiritual life. But what he meant to say isn’t obvious. As I read him, it’s not so much an effort to provide a religious interpretation of early twentieth century American life as to comment on its spiritual poverty. If, as the novel suggests, heaven is nothing more than the ideal employer, if work is nothing more than a more technological version of the slavery in Egypt, what does it say about the humaneness of American life? In short, I see Kafka using religious metaphors to highlight the inhumanity of American culture similar to the critiques of European culture’s bureaucracy and statism in the Trial and The Castle. These later works may be more important, but those who only wish that Kafka had written more will surely enjoy Amerika. Not my favorite of Kafka’s but still recommended. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.tw/products/8720861-amerika-the-missing-person-a-new-translation-based-on-restored](https://www.desertcart.tw/products/8720861-amerika-the-missing-person-a-new-translation-based-on-restored) --- *Product available on Desertcart Taiwan* *Store origin: TW* *Last updated: 2026-10-16*