Kafka Americana

Kafka Americana is a 1999 collection of short stories by Jonathan Lethem and Carter Scholz based on the life (and alternate histories) and works of Franz Kafka. Originally published in a limited edition by Subterranean Press, it was released as a trade paperback by W. W. Norton & Company in 2001.

Kafka Americana

First edition cover
Author	Jonathan Lethem Carter Scholz
Cover artist	Jacket design by Zwetana Penova Cover illustration by Perry Hoberman
Language	English
Genre	Short stories, pastiche, parody
Publisher	Subterranean Press
Publication date	November 1999
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (hardback & paperback)
Pages	100 pp (first edition, hardcover)
ISBN	1-892284-43-X (first edition, hardcover)
OCLC	43333743
Preceded by	Motherless Brooklyn
Followed by	The Fortress of Solitude (novel)

The stories

• "Blumfeld, an Elderly Bachelor" (Scholz)

A re-imagining of Kafka's uncompleted short story. First published in Crank! 1.

• "The Notebooks of Bob K." (Lethem)

Batman is presented as Kafka's creation, with parodies of some of Kafka's famous aphorisms and stories, including "The Burrow", "A Crossbreed (A Sport)", and "The Vulture". A significantly different version of the story appeared in Gas 6.

• "Receding Horizon" (Lethem & Scholz)

Kafka comes to America, changes his name to Jack Dawson, and writes screenplays in Hollywood. First published in Crank! 5.

• "The Amount to Carry" (Scholz)

Kafka meets fellow insurance executives Wallace Stevens and Charles Ives. First published in Starlight 2.

• "K. is for Fake" (Lethem)

Parody of The Trial. First published in McSweeney's Quarterly 4.

References