Franz Kafka: The Trial

I've just started reading Franz Kafkas The Trial.

I was told before that this was a really heavy book to get through, but I find it quite funny. It has long sentences and dialogues. But untill now, I've read 4 chapters, it has not come across as heavy. But maybe it will further on.

What do you think?

(By the way, in Norway this is the book every Uni student has in his/her bookshelf, but has not read)

I wonder what "heavy" means. Does it mean serious subject matter written in a serious style? If so, I don't think it describes The Trial.

Personally, I found that I had to really concentrate when I read it. It took effort, which is not necessarily a bad thing. I find some books that take effort, like this one, or like Nabokov's Bend Sinister (which is not on the 1001 list, but is a good book), are challenging but rewarding. With other books, like Animal Farm and Enduring Love (two I read last month), I just get swept up in the story and I don't even remember that I'm reading.

Edited to try to get the touchstones to kick in.

Maybe hard is the better word. Hard to read. Or, difficult. Hard to get through.

It could also mean heavy as in hard to understand or hard to get a grip of.

The norwegian word "tung" is translated to heavy. It might not be a good translation.

So, what do you think so far? I just finished this, so it's fresh in my mind if you want somebody to discuss it with.

Personally, I had a lot of "what the ? is going on here?" moments where I'd have to reread a page or a paragraph. I would be reading along and then realize that something weird was happening that I wasn't expecting.

Also, I found the dialogue strange . . . as in all of Kafka's work. But maybe that's how people spoke ninety-odd years ago (and it is a translation).

Weird book. I like often like weird books, but I haven't decided about this one yet.

Only read 70 pages so far, but I find it bizarre, somewhat funny, and nearly frustrating.

I think I will only read a chapter a day, to let it sink in. I probably need time to digest it.

The dialogue is strange, but the whole setting seems strange, neary sci-fi-ish.

That is essentially how I approached it too. The chapters were uneven though--some really long, some short--so I read it for about 20-30 minutes at a time. I found that I could follow it better if I bit off only so much at a time.

One of the best pieces of reading advice that I ever got was from a university professor. He said to always read a short story in one sitting, and read a novel in as short a time as possible. I have found that this does really help because I don't get distracted by other things, and it's easier to get wrapped up in the story. I've also stopped reading multiple books at once, and so concentrate on only one at a time.

But when I come across a book like The Trial, this technique is more difficult to follow. My edition is only 160 pages (approx.), so in theory I should have whipped through it quickly. But it just isn't that sort of book. So by biting off chunks at a time, and going back to it at least every day, I got more out of it than if I would have just read it in a few sittings. I tried not to read other things at the same time, but I couldn't stop myself.

Also, for these sorts of books I like to check SparkNotes to see if I'm missing anything major. I sometimes pick up some bits of info that make the book more interesting.

http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/trial/

I'm editing this message to warn you that SparkNotes has spoilers. To avoid them, just read the page for the chapters that you've already completed, and save the other pages for when you've finished the book.

Oh, yeah, and I totally agree: bizarre, somewhat funny and borderline frustrating (poor Josef K.! He seems like a decent enough fellow. Give him a break!).

So, Plekter,

How are you doing with the Trial? What do you think of the ending?

Haven't finished it yet, I find that I can't read that many pages at one go anymore....it is getting a bit tedious. I will finish it though...

Frustration with the absurd nature of bureaucracies and politics is a central theme of the novel, so it is almost impossible not to feel frustration while reading The Trial.

I had to take a step back from the frustrating feelings and realize that the novel is making fun of pointless systems; systems where everyone involved is vying for power and, ironically, no one who is involved actually has any power. Plus I have seen these sorts of games happening in corporations in real life -- not to this extreme, obviously, but the novel nails some of the ridiculous games people play.

It's like I always say: if you have analyzed behavior and actions from a logical, intelligent and fair point of view, and they still don't make sense, you are probably dealing with politics. The Trial is about the extremes of this idea.

-- M1001

(I don't think this is really a spoiler, but if you haven't read it yet, you might want to skip this post)

I read it a while ago, but noone has ever been able to answer my question: What were Franz, Wilhelm and the Whipper doing in the stationery cupboard? Was that whole episode just a dream? Does that mean the whole thing was a dream? That bit completely confused me.

I'm now halfway through! Puh...

yes its a frustrating read at times, but I find it amusing also.

#11 -- I don't think this is really a spoiler, but if you haven't read it yet, you might want to skip this post)

I read it a while ago, but noone has ever been able to answer my question: What were Franz, Wilhelm and the Whipper doing in the stationery cupboard? Was that whole episode just a dream? Does that mean the whole thing was a dream? That bit completely confused me.

------------

I'm not sure if anyone knows, except I guess Kafka himself.

To me that seemed very dreamlike. Yet, I don't think it was a dream within the story. And I don't like the idea that the whole book is just a dream. I read it the way I read magic realism, where I just accept the events of the story equally, whether they makes sense or not.

I think it was the most dreamlike episode in the book.

For what it's worth. YMMV.

I'm nearly done, looking forward to reading something else on the 1001 list...

(I have also been reading a non-1001 book in between.)

I'll stay away from Kafka for a couple of years now...puh...

I'm now reading some of the fragments that he wrote, but decided not to be included in the book.