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Loading... The Trial (original 1925; edition 1995)by Franz Kafka
Work InformationThe Trial by Franz Kafka (1925)
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"The Trial" by Franz Kafka is a novel that follows the surreal and nightmarish experiences of Josef K., a young and seemingly ordinary man who is unexpectedly arrested by unidentified agents. The story begins with Josef waking up one morning to find himself under arrest, yet he is not informed of the charges against him or the nature of his supposed crime. As Josef navigates a bewildering and labyrinthine judicial system, he encounters a series of bizarre characters and situations that highlight the absurdity and arbitrary nature of the legal process. Despite his attempts to defend himself and seek answers, Josef is caught in a web of bureaucracy, confusion, and a pervasive sense of guilt. Throughout the novel, Kafka explores themes of alienation, existential anxiety, and the dehumanizing effects of an opaque and indifferent bureaucracy. The narrative is characterized by its dreamlike and surreal atmosphere, and the ambiguous conclusion adds to the overall sense of unease and unresolved tension. "The Trial" is considered a seminal work of 20th-century literature and a masterpiece of existential and absurdist fiction. The Muir translation is excellent, especially for those wishing to expand their vocabulary, but the story was a bit dizzying. I found myself intrigued, confused, laughing, and impatient throughout the story. Though I've heard this is a tale meant to depict totalitarian government, to me it hit more closely to the anxieties of life and death. At this point I've read nearly all of Kafka, and I'm glad I've waited to read this one, because I feel a certain familiarity for him which allowed me to see past the maze of thought within this book. But, for anyone new to Kafka, do not start with The Trial, lest you give up on him too soon. All of this I say with a certain shame/discomfort knowing he didn't wish this to be published anyways, but I'm glad I was able to see another aspect of his mind. The story in itself has a very monotone atmosphere to it, nothing very surprising happens, everything is very down to earth, even things that are absurd you come around to agree that could happen maybe, it is however, very addicting to read, it draws you in with the mystery of why the man is being taken under arrest so suddenly and how does the machinations behind the court of law work, how is it that a man in under arrest can move freely and continue with his life as usual. There is the burden of knowing that the sentence may come to him one minute from now or years from now, it can come soon or maybe it wont come at all, but the anxiety of not knowing how bad it is, when its gonna come and what hes actually being accused of; are the things that keep you questioning. The people in the book are very strange and purposefully make K stay longer than he should, they take too long to say what they want to, too long to do what they have to, and K cant do anything at all except wait, or go away knowing that he could lose precious information that could help his case, that he cant get anywhere else... However it all can be a great loss of time for him as well, he wont know, he never knows, he is the one convicted with most knowledge of his case and yet, he doesnt understand anything at all. The book also feels to the reader like they are losing their time, just like K, the conversations and explanations and situations go on and on, feeling as though they might not end.. but it draws you in much further because of the sense that something might happen. If I had never heard of the book or the bones of the plot I would have had more fun and liked it more. The thing that fucks you the most while reading is that not a single person- including the person who is supposed to be our perspective- ever acknowledges what the fuck is going on at all. If the story and the concept wasn't so ingrained in the culture and I couldn't hear about it from a TED video than this book would have been so much more of a fuckery to read, I would always be flipping back through the pages to see what I missed, only to see that he wrote the explanation I was looking for, it would make me crazy and I would love this book and tell everyone about it but instead I like it a lot. Because I wasn't blown away by the crazy concept I had a lot of time to think about why every decision was made in the writing process like how every woman around him cant resist themselves around this lonely 30 year old bank worker, " the accused are always more handsome" says the author who lives in his parents attic and falls desperately in love with a woman he met at a party once. Weird guy, very colourful introduction about how weird and nice guy he was and also quite a dickhead a lot of the time.
Una mañana cualquiera, Josef K., joven empleado de un banco, se despierta en la pensión donde reside con la extraña visita de unos hombres que le comunican que está detenido -aunque por el momento seguirá libre-. Le informan de que se ha iniciado un proceso contra él, y le aseguran que conocerá los cargos a su debido tiempo. Así comienza una de las más memorables y enigmáticas pesadillas jamás escritas. Para el protagonista, Josef K., el proceso laberíntico en el que inesperadamente se ve inmerso supone una toma de conciencia de sí mismo, un despertar que le obliga a reflexionar sobre su propia existencia, sobre la pérdida de la inocencia y la aparición de la muerte. La lectura de El proceso produce cierto «horror vacui» pues nos sumerge en una existencia absurda, en el filo de la navaja entre la vida y la nada. Belongs to Publisher SeriesBiblioteca Folha (17) Clube de Literatura Clássica (CLC) (36 [April 2023]) — 31 more Fischer Taschenbuch (676) Gallimard, Folio (101-1840) Gallimard, Folio Classique (1840) L&PM Pocket (543) Lanterne (L 4) Loomingu Raamatukogu 1966 (40-43) Modern Library (318) Penguin Modern Classics (907) Perpetua reeks (50) Reclams Universal-Bibliothek (9676) suhrkamp taschenbuch (3669) Světová literatura (10) A tot vent (119) Is contained inHas the adaptationHas as a studyHas as a commentary on the textHas as a student's study guideHas as a teacher's guideAwardsDistinctionsNotable Lists
Narrates the experiences and reactions of a respectable bank functionary after his abrupt arrest on an undisclosed charge. No library descriptions found.
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Current DiscussionsFound: Surrealist/existencialist book featuring giant doors/gates that needed certain keys in Name that Book Popular covers
Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)833.912Literature German literature and literatures of related languages German fiction Modern period (1900-) 1900-1990 1900-1945LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
Penguin Australia2 editions of this book were published by Penguin Australia. Editions: 0141182903, 0141194715 Tantor MediaAn edition of this book was published by Tantor Media. Recorded BooksAn edition of this book was published by Recorded Books. |
A premissa deste livro captou o meu interesse, visto ter parecido o estilo de narrativa que me cativa. Certo dia Josef K. acorda e é informado que se encontra preso e sob a alçada de um processo judicial, sem qualquer informação adicional relativamente ao seu processo, nem sequer qual é a acusação. Contudo não é acusado de um processo criminal, nem sequer a sua prisão é efetiva, podendo levar a cabo a sua vida normal em aparente liberdade, desde que compareça aos inquéritos e audiências dos tribunais.
O desenvolvimento da história foi o que me desiludiu. Parece que esta situação absurda, vulgo kafkiana é aceitada com naturalidade por toda a gente envolvida, e é completamente desprezado pelo livro qual o motivo da acusação ou de quem o acusa. Em vez disso, é descrito pormenorizadamente a corrupção e os meandros do serviço jurídico que aplicou o processo ao protagonista, num ponto de vista mais filosófico do que proactivo.
Apesar de aceitar não ser o meu estilo de livro, compreendi a alegoria que Franz Kafka pretendeu transmitir, tendo-me feito refletir acerca do conceito de justiça e das relações do poder instuído, podendo então afirmar que sendo o objetivo do livro fazer-nos pensar, esta obra literária cumpriu o objetivo proposto. Contudo, não é um estilo literário que me tenha agradado particularmente. O personagem principal nunca consegue transmitir empatia devido ao facto de ser um homem arrogante e misoginista (todas as mulheres que apareceram neste livro ficam perdidas de amor por ele). Esta história pode ser resumida ao Josef K. falar do seu processo com inúmeras personagens que raramente repetem a sua aparição nos capítulos seguintes, mas sabem sempre todas mais sobre todo o processo que o próprio protagonista mas sem nunca detalhar informações. Algo que não gostei também foi um capítulo estar visivelmente incompleto, existindo uma quebra na continuidade da história, e o final foi na minha opinião, demasiado repentino.
Este é um livro que pensei que fosse gostar mais do que realmente gostei, e bem tentei gostar dele, tendo inclusive visto a versão em cinema feita por Orson Welles em 1962, e lido bastantes análise críticas da obra a ver se me tinha escapado algum detalhe ou metáfora importante. A verdade é que não me senti envolvido nesta história, embora a abordagem do tema de um ponto de vista filosófico tenha sido impecável e imaginativo, num todo esta obra literária deixou-me muito a desejar. Apesar de tudo gostei da experiência de o ler, não digo que repetirei, mas recomendo para quem goste de livros deste género. ( )