Missing (America)

"America" is the first novel by Franz Kafka (1883-1924), one of the key writers of the twentieth century, which had a huge impact on the entire world literary process. Kafka himself, having published the story "Kochegar", was going to start them with the novel The missing. The name "America" was invented by the writer Max Brod in 1927 - when, after painful hesitation, Max violated his friend’s testament, refused to burn his manuscripts and proceeded to their publication. Kafka described the United States with amazing reliability, although he has never been there. It turned out a complex, branched, not always intelligible story about how a young emigrant from Europe Karl Rosman arrives on a ship in New York, meets his wealthy uncle there, lives with him for some time, then she turns out on the street without money, works as an elevator, a servant In a rich lady, he is tired of technical employees to the theater ... We do not know how the further fate of Karl has developed. But, knowing the sad stories of the other heroes of Franz Kafka, we can assume that Karl’s life will continue the same way as it went before: with a fair amount of absurdity, surrealistic turns, existential anxiety, a complex of guilt before everyone specifically. That is, quite in Kafkian.

Translation from German Mikhail Rudnitsky. The accompanying article by Alisa Ganieva

Ganieva Alisa Arkadyevna - prose writer, essayist, laureate of prizes "Debut" and "Triumph", finalist of the Yuri Kazakov Prizes for the best story of the year (2010), Ivan Petrovich Belkin for the best story (2010), "Yasnaya Polyana" (2013), "Russian Bouquer" (2015) The author of the books "Salam you, Dalgat!" (2010), "Festive Mountain" (2012), "Bride and Bride" (2015), "Offended Feelings" (2018)