Summary of The Trial
Josef K., an ordinary bank clerk, finds himself entangled in a nightmarish legal ordeal. He faces court hearings governed by opaque rules, held on Sundays, in the attics of shabby tenement buildings, but remains unaware of the charges against him or how to prove his innocence. As he attempts to gain control over the legal process and his own life, he is disturbed by an erotic attraction to several women associated with the court and his boarding house.
Reasons to read The Trial
“The Trial” is a surreal, psychological, and fragmentary novel about a man oppressed by an overpowering bureaucratic system. The book is regarded as a masterpiece of modern literature – though it is not an easy read. In 1999, “The Trial” was ranked second on a list of the Best German Novels of the Twentieth Century by Bertelsmann and Literaturhaus München, and third on Le Monde’s list of the 100 Books of the Century. Franz Kafka, born into a Czech Jewish family in Prague, was one of the most influential German-language writers of the 20th century. He is best known for his novels “The Trial” and “The Castle”, and for his novella “The Metamorphosis”. His novels remained unfinished at the time of his death and were published posthumously by his fried Max Brod, despite Kafka’s explicit instructions that they be destroyed.
Setting: Prague (Czech Republic)
Book set in Czech Republic (Prague): Kafka deliberately left the setting of “The Trial” unnamed, giving the novel an ambiguous universality – it could be anywhere and nowhere at the same time. Nevertheless, the most likely inspiration is Prague, where Kafka spent most of his life.
Original title: Der Prozess
Year of publication: 1925
Nr of pages: 229
