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.

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.