There was something about this book that kept me from connecting with it in an emotional way, perhaps if this is a life experience that you can relate to on a personal level this story would quickly entice you, if not there is no real structural criticism to novel that is overtly distracting. Yet I found myself wandering and wondering subconsciously if there were allusions or aphorisms that i was not privilege too. This is still an excellent read, don't over think it. ( )

This is the third work I've read from Kafka (after The Metamorphosis and The Hunger Artist). I enjoyed the other two more, but I think The Trial had some things stacked against it. First, it was uncompleted, or maybe just the revisions Kafka might have undertaken had been left undone. Second, I feel it was a much more intricate work than the prior two.

Parts of this novel seem to hint at religion. Especially the parable about the man and the guard at the door. Can it be that K is in purgatory? It seems like that answer would fit so nicely into the story. I haven't read the reviews of others on this yet, but I'm sure someone else has advanced that idea. If that's the case, you have my total endorsement!

In my copy of the book, I have a pro and con. The con is the preface - I have a big problem with prefaces going into plot details of the book. Chances are, the author provides those plot details better than the individual introducing - let the author do his or her job! I don't want a spoiler at the beginning of a book. Discuss plots and so forth at the end of the book to avoid creating a bias or stunting critical thinking. I usually read EVERYTHING in a book - fly leaf, about the author, even the paragraph about the typeset - but I skipped the preface when I started picking up on some spoiler info and I decided not to return to it because I was annoyed.

That being said, I did read the notes after the story ended and I read sections that had been deleted by Kafka or portions that had been taken out following his death because a chapter was unfinished. This was great to read - for the deleted materials, I saw a glimpse of an even better novel had he time to polish the final work. For the additional information about Kafka from his friend, it's always interesting to me to read about how close to oblivion particular great works were at one time or other. Kafka's works apparently were close - or in some cases, they were destroyed. That puts them up there with the near demise of Bram Stoker's Dracula and (ok maybe this is a stretch, but it's near and dear to my heart) Wilson Rawl's Where the Red Fern Grows. ( )

You wake up one morning. You've been accused of a crime. They won't tell you what you've been accused of. You're forced to stand before the judge and defend yourself against this secret crime.

Congratulations. You're Josef K., the protagonist of the trial.

This, one of Kafka's better known stories, published after he died, and coincidentally, left unfinished, is as good an example of his writing as any other piece of his.

Recommended for fans of Kafka and existentialism. ( )

This book has been well reviewed many times already. I just wanted to draw attention to the penultimate chapter of this book, entitled "In the cathedral" in which Joseph K. meets a priest. During this meeting the priest tells Joseph K a story which, as it unfolds, becomes the most astonishing thing set down on paper that I can think of, a parable of overwhelming force. Go back to it and read it again: see what you think. ( )

"The Trial" is the story of a man named Joseph K. - normally referred to as simply "K." - who is arrested for no apparent reason, and is never told what he has been charged with. The story follows his frustrating journey through the ridiculous legal system he is subjected to.

Classic Kafka, the story is surreal to the point of being absurd, but is still somehow true to life. Also classically Kafka, it's pretty confusing where he actually was trying to go with the story. It seems to me that like "The Metamorphosis", this story has implications so deep they're well over my head. Or maybe Kafka was just disturbed and mentally unstable...

Either way, he was an amazing writer. Humorous in many parts, dark and disturbing in others, I just can't get enough of his writing. This book, sadly, was somewhat unfinished before Kafka's death. However, we're lucky to have it today because Kafka's dying wish was apparently to have all his unpublished works destroyed by his good friend, who believed Kafka only wished him that because he knew he wouldn't listen.

All in all a fun and thought-provoking read, though I'm hesitant to claim I understood very much of it. It seems to be a satirical look at the legal process, but it feels like there's something much more clever underneath that facade. ( )