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Die Romane: Amerika Der Prozess Das Schloss
In America Karl Rossmann is 'packed off to America by his parents' to experience Oedipal and cultural isolation. Here, ordinary immigrants are also strange, and 'America' is never quite as real as it should be. Kafka, a Czech writing in German, never acutally visited America; so, as Max Brod commented, 'the innocence of his fantasy gives this book if advanture its peculiar colour.'
Both Joseph K in The Trial and K in The Castle are victims of anonymous governing forces beyond their control. Both are atomised, estranged and rootless citizens decieved by authoritarian power. Whereas Joseph K is relentlessly hunted down for a crime that remains nameless, K ceaselessly attempts to enter the castle and so belong somewhere. Together these novels may be read as powerful allegories of totalitarian government in whatever guise it appears today.
Both Joseph K in The Trial and K in The Castle are victims of anonymous governing forces beyond their control. Both are atomised, estranged and rootless citizens decieved by authoritarian power. Whereas Joseph K is relentlessly hunted down for a crime that remains nameless, K ceaselessly attempts to enter the castle and so belong somewhere. Together these novels may be read as powerful allegories of totalitarian government in whatever guise it appears today.
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First published April 3, 2008
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About the author
Franz Kafka
3,209 books38.3k followersPrague-born writer Franz Kafka wrote in German, and his stories, such as "
The Metamorphosis
" (1916), and posthumously published novels, including
The Trial
(1925), concern troubled individuals in a nightmarishly impersonal world.
Jewish middle-class family of this major fiction writer of the 20th century spoke German. People consider his unique body of much incomplete writing, mainly published posthumously, among the most influential in European literature.
His stories include "The Metamorphosis" (1912) and " In the Penal Colony " (1914), whereas his posthumous novels include The Trial (1925), The Castle (1926) and Amerika (1927).
Despite first language, Kafka also spoke fluent Czech. Later, Kafka acquired some knowledge of the French language and culture from Flaubert, one of his favorite authors.
Kafka first studied chemistry at the Charles-Ferdinand University of Prague but after two weeks switched to law. This study offered a range of career possibilities, which pleased his father, and required a longer course of study that gave Kafka time to take classes in German studies and art history. At the university, he joined a student club, named Lese- und Redehalle der Deutschen Studenten, which organized literary events, readings, and other activities. In the end of his first year of studies, he met Max Brod, a close friend of his throughout his life, together with the journalist Felix Weltsch, who also studied law. Kafka obtained the degree of doctor of law on 18 June 1906 and performed an obligatory year of unpaid service as law clerk for the civil and criminal courts.
Writing of Kafka attracted little attention before his death. During his lifetime, he published only a few short stories and never finished any of his novels except the very short "The Metamorphosis." Kafka wrote to Max Brod, his friend and literary executor: "Dearest Max, my last request: Everything I leave behind me ... in the way of diaries, manuscripts, letters (my own and others'), sketches, and so on, [is] to be burned unread." Brod told Kafka that he intended not to honor these wishes, but Kafka, so knowing, nevertheless consequently gave these directions specifically to Brod, who, so reasoning, overrode these wishes. Brod in fact oversaw the publication of most of work of Kafka in his possession; these works quickly began to attract attention and high critical regard.
Max Brod encountered significant difficulty in compiling notebooks of Kafka into any chronological order as Kafka started writing in the middle of notebooks, from the last towards the first, et cetera.
Kafka wrote all his published works in German except several letters in Czech to Milena Jesenská.
Jewish middle-class family of this major fiction writer of the 20th century spoke German. People consider his unique body of much incomplete writing, mainly published posthumously, among the most influential in European literature.
His stories include "The Metamorphosis" (1912) and " In the Penal Colony " (1914), whereas his posthumous novels include The Trial (1925), The Castle (1926) and Amerika (1927).
Despite first language, Kafka also spoke fluent Czech. Later, Kafka acquired some knowledge of the French language and culture from Flaubert, one of his favorite authors.
Kafka first studied chemistry at the Charles-Ferdinand University of Prague but after two weeks switched to law. This study offered a range of career possibilities, which pleased his father, and required a longer course of study that gave Kafka time to take classes in German studies and art history. At the university, he joined a student club, named Lese- und Redehalle der Deutschen Studenten, which organized literary events, readings, and other activities. In the end of his first year of studies, he met Max Brod, a close friend of his throughout his life, together with the journalist Felix Weltsch, who also studied law. Kafka obtained the degree of doctor of law on 18 June 1906 and performed an obligatory year of unpaid service as law clerk for the civil and criminal courts.
Writing of Kafka attracted little attention before his death. During his lifetime, he published only a few short stories and never finished any of his novels except the very short "The Metamorphosis." Kafka wrote to Max Brod, his friend and literary executor: "Dearest Max, my last request: Everything I leave behind me ... in the way of diaries, manuscripts, letters (my own and others'), sketches, and so on, [is] to be burned unread." Brod told Kafka that he intended not to honor these wishes, but Kafka, so knowing, nevertheless consequently gave these directions specifically to Brod, who, so reasoning, overrode these wishes. Brod in fact oversaw the publication of most of work of Kafka in his possession; these works quickly began to attract attention and high critical regard.
Max Brod encountered significant difficulty in compiling notebooks of Kafka into any chronological order as Kafka started writing in the middle of notebooks, from the last towards the first, et cetera.
Kafka wrote all his published works in German except several letters in Czech to Milena Jesenská.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
March 8, 2016
I had read all of Kafka's stories, and I had read The Trial, but - inexplicably - I had not read his two other novels. Perhaps I was simply saving them - I'd like to think so. In any case, I decided to read the other two now, once and for all, one after another, in this pretty Vintage edition. I have reviewed the novels individually, so I will not go into detail here. I will simply make a comment about something which all Kafka fans who have to read him in English are likely to already know, namely, that the Muir and Muir translations are not ideal. I look forward to re-reading all of Kafka's fiction in different translations. As for Kafka, well. Kafka is Kafka. What can I - or anyone - say?
Links to individual reviews:
America/Amerika/The Man Who Disappeared/The Missing Person/The Stoker
The Castle
Links to individual reviews:
America/Amerika/The Man Who Disappeared/The Missing Person/The Stoker
The Castle
March 17, 2016
This sizeable book is actually three novels in one volume. The Complete Novels of Kafka is comprised of (1) The Trial; (2) America; and (3) The Castle. Given I had never read much of Kafka previously, it seemed to be as good an introduction as any to his works. However, it is impossible to rate, which is why the rating here sits only at three stars: As much of a middling rating as I could achieve, given there are only five stars possible.
The first novel, The Trial is the absolute height of classic, necessary-to-read literature. To a lesser extent America follows. And to my mind The Castle is last in the volume because if it were first, then nary a man among contemporary readers would persist with the rest of the stories. And I say this in full knowledge that The Castle is also upheld as one of Kafka's finest works.
The Trial is a fascinating work of what could be taken as being frustration with the hidden vestiges of authority and fascist society; or, just as validly, the tormenting fantasy of a diseased mind. It tells the story of K. (Joseph K.) who, upon waking one day, is told that he is charged and is to undergo a trial. But we never find out what he's charged with, or whether any of the bizarre trials held in houses in strange parts of the city, are actually real (in any sense of the word 'real'). The visions he has during his workday may or may not be real to him or anybody else, and of his eventual death at the end the same may be said. It is at once an absurdist and artistic masterpiece. It deserves multiple re-readings. In fact, it is so remarkable that I have a strong desire to add it as an independent work to my library, simply so that I can re-read it with greater ease.
The novel that follows, America is very different, yet Kafka's style of deliberately causing you as the reader to retain your ignorance of a society of which you can have no legitimate knowledge beyond the primary character, is very clear. This novel is reminiscent Dickens's portrayals of the USA in his novels. vis: Of a place that promises you great things, yet is filled with the self-serving, is unsupportive of people from elsewhere, and yet enticing in its continued promises. A remarkable story, America is a sparkling read for the reader attentive to nuance, implication, and similarity of circumstance. I say that because if you are not attentive to such things, then this novel will fall completely flat for you, and you will leave the experience no more enlightened than when you entered upon it.
But as for The Castle... it is a novel for which I feel that my ability to penetrate the author's style and intention rather failed me. The hallmarks of the style (reader's ignorance, the character's confusion and dilemmas, the strange foreignness of the character's own people, and so on) are ever present. But it does go on. And it goes on interminably, even past the intentional ending and through into the 'found' papers that were subsequently worked into the definitive editions, as in this particular edition. This interminably going-on is either failure or genius. As a reader newish to Kafka (newish because I've only read three novels, not the author's entire canon), it is a failure. And I fear that subsequent pondering will cause me to believe that it's genius. The fear itself is not unfounded, because the truth of the matter is that I barely read entire tracts, seeming to go in circles as it did, with hardly a break, in a narrative that turns on itself in a spiral from which there is no emergence.
But that's exactly where its genius lies, one could argue. That genius is exactly what the human condition is like. Dealing with faceless authorities in a system that makes sense to nobody except those within them; dealing with the wiles of relationships and communities as a stranger, when they, too, make no sense except to those within them; the intense logic and sense-making you know that you possess, in a world of apparent madness. And the fact that, no matter what you do, offending people is the order of the day, unless you bow to the accepted way.
So you see, even by the time I've been writing this review of The Castle its point makes a liar of me. And now, I too, become K. himself.
Perhaps, after all, that was Kafka's intention.
In any case, The Castle is a tough read. The characters are impenetrable. The story is impenetrable. You will get bored. You will wonder what the fuck is going on. You will fail to retain your patience with the pace. And the absurdity of it all will cause you to wonder whether you, or Kafka, or the characters has gone mad. And in the end, you'll be relieved that it's over. Freed from the clutches of this weird universe (which we now know reflects so much of our own), you're capable of going on to that other pile of books that for the past month you've been yearning to read.
And still, The Castle 's artistry lies in the fact that as a reader you are in this position, when in fact its primary character is, too.
Perhaps the solution to this intense frustration is not to read three Kafka novels all in a row, but to space them out. And perhaps that is a good reason not to buy such a gigantic volume all at once in order to immerse yourself in a Kakfa Universe. But if you are new to Kafka (as I was), and want to know what the fuss is all about, reading these books all in a row is a godsend: You will grasp, immediately and deeply, why Kafka is such an important writer. It's because your life is just as weird and impenetrable as that of Kafka's characters; and in walking alongside them, you learn about yourself.
The first novel, The Trial is the absolute height of classic, necessary-to-read literature. To a lesser extent America follows. And to my mind The Castle is last in the volume because if it were first, then nary a man among contemporary readers would persist with the rest of the stories. And I say this in full knowledge that The Castle is also upheld as one of Kafka's finest works.
The Trial is a fascinating work of what could be taken as being frustration with the hidden vestiges of authority and fascist society; or, just as validly, the tormenting fantasy of a diseased mind. It tells the story of K. (Joseph K.) who, upon waking one day, is told that he is charged and is to undergo a trial. But we never find out what he's charged with, or whether any of the bizarre trials held in houses in strange parts of the city, are actually real (in any sense of the word 'real'). The visions he has during his workday may or may not be real to him or anybody else, and of his eventual death at the end the same may be said. It is at once an absurdist and artistic masterpiece. It deserves multiple re-readings. In fact, it is so remarkable that I have a strong desire to add it as an independent work to my library, simply so that I can re-read it with greater ease.
The novel that follows, America is very different, yet Kafka's style of deliberately causing you as the reader to retain your ignorance of a society of which you can have no legitimate knowledge beyond the primary character, is very clear. This novel is reminiscent Dickens's portrayals of the USA in his novels. vis: Of a place that promises you great things, yet is filled with the self-serving, is unsupportive of people from elsewhere, and yet enticing in its continued promises. A remarkable story, America is a sparkling read for the reader attentive to nuance, implication, and similarity of circumstance. I say that because if you are not attentive to such things, then this novel will fall completely flat for you, and you will leave the experience no more enlightened than when you entered upon it.
But as for The Castle... it is a novel for which I feel that my ability to penetrate the author's style and intention rather failed me. The hallmarks of the style (reader's ignorance, the character's confusion and dilemmas, the strange foreignness of the character's own people, and so on) are ever present. But it does go on. And it goes on interminably, even past the intentional ending and through into the 'found' papers that were subsequently worked into the definitive editions, as in this particular edition. This interminably going-on is either failure or genius. As a reader newish to Kafka (newish because I've only read three novels, not the author's entire canon), it is a failure. And I fear that subsequent pondering will cause me to believe that it's genius. The fear itself is not unfounded, because the truth of the matter is that I barely read entire tracts, seeming to go in circles as it did, with hardly a break, in a narrative that turns on itself in a spiral from which there is no emergence.
But that's exactly where its genius lies, one could argue. That genius is exactly what the human condition is like. Dealing with faceless authorities in a system that makes sense to nobody except those within them; dealing with the wiles of relationships and communities as a stranger, when they, too, make no sense except to those within them; the intense logic and sense-making you know that you possess, in a world of apparent madness. And the fact that, no matter what you do, offending people is the order of the day, unless you bow to the accepted way.
So you see, even by the time I've been writing this review of The Castle its point makes a liar of me. And now, I too, become K. himself.
Perhaps, after all, that was Kafka's intention.
In any case, The Castle is a tough read. The characters are impenetrable. The story is impenetrable. You will get bored. You will wonder what the fuck is going on. You will fail to retain your patience with the pace. And the absurdity of it all will cause you to wonder whether you, or Kafka, or the characters has gone mad. And in the end, you'll be relieved that it's over. Freed from the clutches of this weird universe (which we now know reflects so much of our own), you're capable of going on to that other pile of books that for the past month you've been yearning to read.
And still, The Castle 's artistry lies in the fact that as a reader you are in this position, when in fact its primary character is, too.
Perhaps the solution to this intense frustration is not to read three Kafka novels all in a row, but to space them out. And perhaps that is a good reason not to buy such a gigantic volume all at once in order to immerse yourself in a Kakfa Universe. But if you are new to Kafka (as I was), and want to know what the fuss is all about, reading these books all in a row is a godsend: You will grasp, immediately and deeply, why Kafka is such an important writer. It's because your life is just as weird and impenetrable as that of Kafka's characters; and in walking alongside them, you learn about yourself.
October 25, 2019
Tiiliskivihaasteen viimeinen kirja (huh, nyt se on suoritettu!).
Oikeusjutussa on tiettyä yhtäläisyyttä Dickensin Koleaan taloon sikäli, että oikeuslaitos näyttäytyy esoteerisena ja muusta maailmasta irrallisena saarekkeena, jonka surrealistiselle toiminnalle voisi melkeinpä naureskella ellei kyse olisi vakavasta asiasta. Mutta tässä oikeuslaitos on toki vielä mystisempi, kun missään vaiheessa ei edes selviä, mistä koko oikeusjutussa on kyse. Oikeastaan vahvimmin minulle syntyi mielikuva siitä, että oikeusjuttu on tässä jonkin parantumattoman ja huonosti tunnetun sairauden vertauskuva: jonakin päivänä se vain ottaa ihmisen haltuunsa, prosessin etenemiseen voi yrittää vaikuttaa mutta lopputulosta se ei muuta, ja lopulta ihminen saa väistämättä tuomionsa.
Amerikka on tosi päheä ja mukaansatempaava lukukokemus. Harmillista kyllä romaani loppuu aivan kesken, ja keskeneräisestä lopusta näkee, että vielä paljon oli tarkoitus tapahtua. Tästä olisi varmaan valmiina tullut todella mahtava tarina. Äärimmäisen tiukkaa yhteiskuntakritiikkiä. Kokoelman paras romaani, ilman muuta viiskauttaviis.
Linna on sitten taas jotain ihan ihme haahuilua. Todella puuduttava lukukokemus. Minulle ei oikein syntynyt käsitystä siitä, mistä tässä on kyse. Juontakaan ei tuntunut olevan. Päähenkilö on samalla lailla ulkoisten ja käsittämättömien prosessien ohjailemana kuin Oikeusjutussa, mutta tolkkua on vielä sitäkin vähemmän. Selvästi Kafkan heikoin romaani.
Oikeusjutussa on tiettyä yhtäläisyyttä Dickensin Koleaan taloon sikäli, että oikeuslaitos näyttäytyy esoteerisena ja muusta maailmasta irrallisena saarekkeena, jonka surrealistiselle toiminnalle voisi melkeinpä naureskella ellei kyse olisi vakavasta asiasta. Mutta tässä oikeuslaitos on toki vielä mystisempi, kun missään vaiheessa ei edes selviä, mistä koko oikeusjutussa on kyse. Oikeastaan vahvimmin minulle syntyi mielikuva siitä, että oikeusjuttu on tässä jonkin parantumattoman ja huonosti tunnetun sairauden vertauskuva: jonakin päivänä se vain ottaa ihmisen haltuunsa, prosessin etenemiseen voi yrittää vaikuttaa mutta lopputulosta se ei muuta, ja lopulta ihminen saa väistämättä tuomionsa.
Amerikka on tosi päheä ja mukaansatempaava lukukokemus. Harmillista kyllä romaani loppuu aivan kesken, ja keskeneräisestä lopusta näkee, että vielä paljon oli tarkoitus tapahtua. Tästä olisi varmaan valmiina tullut todella mahtava tarina. Äärimmäisen tiukkaa yhteiskuntakritiikkiä. Kokoelman paras romaani, ilman muuta viiskauttaviis.
Linna on sitten taas jotain ihan ihme haahuilua. Todella puuduttava lukukokemus. Minulle ei oikein syntynyt käsitystä siitä, mistä tässä on kyse. Juontakaan ei tuntunut olevan. Päähenkilö on samalla lailla ulkoisten ja käsittämättömien prosessien ohjailemana kuin Oikeusjutussa, mutta tolkkua on vielä sitäkin vähemmän. Selvästi Kafkan heikoin romaani.
August 5, 2015
No es un libro, es un compañero de viaje. Cambia la traducción y el formato (ahora la de Hernández Arias), pero El castillo vuelve cada cierto tiempo. Dicen que los descastados se pegan a él en cuanto lo catan.
June 27, 2020
I enjoyed every single book in this collection, apart from 'The Castle'.
June 7, 2020
As has been said by other reviewers, The Trial is the best story here. The ending, apparently not part of the original writing is an anti-climax, not only because of is suddenness but its simplicity. The trial nevertheless deserves 4 stars.
America is less bleak and even has a positive ending, and may not even be Kafkaesque enough. The one part I found puzzling is how, the protagonist Karl held captive by Delamarche and Robinson suddenly was outside, looking at a placard which leads him to Nature Theatre of Oklahoma. It is to be assumed that in time, he accepted the indentured service to Delamarche and was gradually trusted with relative liberty, but the continuity is missing. Thus, 3 stars.
The Castle is not only bleak but is a very long story. The worst thing is the extended conversations that go on an on pointlessly. As opposed to The Trial and America which narrate events, thoughts and incidents, The Castle seems more about conversations. I never understood what compelled K to be stuck in the quagmire. Yes, he came to do a land survey, and was given the bureaucratic run-around but so what? He life wasn't at risk, he was not a freshly arrived foreigner in a strange country, so what gives? I can only attribute this to latent masochism. The Castle is a 2 star novel.
I have not read the other translations, and this compilation edition by Vintage is very badly type-faced (multiple pages without a single paragraph break) so I am discounting for this effect but I can't help thinking Kafka could have been Kafkaesque in a slightly more readable way.
America is less bleak and even has a positive ending, and may not even be Kafkaesque enough. The one part I found puzzling is how, the protagonist Karl held captive by Delamarche and Robinson suddenly was outside, looking at a placard which leads him to Nature Theatre of Oklahoma. It is to be assumed that in time, he accepted the indentured service to Delamarche and was gradually trusted with relative liberty, but the continuity is missing. Thus, 3 stars.
The Castle is not only bleak but is a very long story. The worst thing is the extended conversations that go on an on pointlessly. As opposed to The Trial and America which narrate events, thoughts and incidents, The Castle seems more about conversations. I never understood what compelled K to be stuck in the quagmire. Yes, he came to do a land survey, and was given the bureaucratic run-around but so what? He life wasn't at risk, he was not a freshly arrived foreigner in a strange country, so what gives? I can only attribute this to latent masochism. The Castle is a 2 star novel.
I have not read the other translations, and this compilation edition by Vintage is very badly type-faced (multiple pages without a single paragraph break) so I am discounting for this effect but I can't help thinking Kafka could have been Kafkaesque in a slightly more readable way.
July 7, 2019
If The Trial has something of an ending, it nonetheless shares a fundamental reality with Kafka's other two novels: it is unfinished, and until the author's death, unpublished. To read stories that have no proper end – and to read three such novels in sequence – certainly presents a problem of critique. Wherever Kafka might intend to bring these stories we might never know – Amerika is particularly fascinating in this regard, with an ending now redolent of Fellini and Kaufman (the latter of which almost certainly nabbing it directly), and one that contrasts deeply the tone and content earlier in the novel. How the text translated from the lonesome alienation of the American hinterlands to the surrealistic circus of the closing is truly obscure; a disappointment that is made all the worse by this appended ending, itself, cutting off prematurely. It is only in The Castle, a text that encompasses the fervid anxiety of Kafka’s mind most directly, that the ending – the lack thereof – might suit. A narrative that has become so convoluted, so jumbled, so enervating and uncomfortable, a morass of text and law and contradiction, that it seems the only escape is for the story to simply cease. And it does: as tragic as it is merciful. Even in their incomplete forms, these novels are essential; fragments of a vision that, with brief exception, surpass even Kafka’s feted (and complete) shortform work.
October 23, 2019
Another overrated classics
Complete wtf. This version suffers from poorly OCRed text with misidentified or missing words. Coupled with the original translation style, where much of the formatting is preserved, the reading becomes a daunting task of tracking, where the sentence is interrupted by an interposition, which, in turn, gets interrupted itself, and so on.
Put this into pages long paragraphs, consisting of 2 sentences each, to get the general layout.
Then the content. Absurd realism with loads of unnecessary details and sidesteps, that lead to nowhere in terms of plot advancement. It would be fine, if the author could keep the tone to the end, but he seems to snap towards the end of the Trial and Amerika and just try to end it somehow. Definitely abruptly
Complete wtf. This version suffers from poorly OCRed text with misidentified or missing words. Coupled with the original translation style, where much of the formatting is preserved, the reading becomes a daunting task of tracking, where the sentence is interrupted by an interposition, which, in turn, gets interrupted itself, and so on.
Put this into pages long paragraphs, consisting of 2 sentences each, to get the general layout.
Then the content. Absurd realism with loads of unnecessary details and sidesteps, that lead to nowhere in terms of plot advancement. It would be fine, if the author could keep the tone to the end, but he seems to snap towards the end of the Trial and Amerika and just try to end it somehow. Definitely abruptly
December 11, 2020
Does Kafka know how to use paragraphs? Discourse markers? Anything to break up the text? Really felt like a slog getting through The Trial and The Castle, only Amerika felt like it flowed properly and with an actual plot, but it still ended mid story. Kafka and Joyce would get along famously I’m sure
June 14, 2024
The Trial receives five stars. The other two novels, a bit less. So the book gets, on average, three stars.
The Trial was excellent. Even Kafka could not imitate himself in the rest of the two novels, though we can glimpse his brilliance in one or two places there.
The Trial was excellent. Even Kafka could not imitate himself in the rest of the two novels, though we can glimpse his brilliance in one or two places there.
June 27, 2025
Five for "The Trial"(masterpiece); three for "Amerika" (it has potentials, but it is obviously incomplete) and one for "The Castle"(perhaps the most boring novel I have ever had the displeasure of reading in my life...).
January 6, 2019
MOre like the uncompleted novels of Franz Kafka if ya know what I mean ;) Still, great books though! :p
March 1, 2024
Ausstellung
March 10, 2025
Understanding and reading kafka as absurd and frustrating as his life was. I have enjoyed The Trial soo much but Amerika and specially The castle is one frustrated read in my opinion. The Castle is a marathon—K. bumbling through snow, begging bureaucrats for answers that never come, and you’re like, “Why am I still reading this?” But then it hits you: that’s the whole point. Life’s a messy, exhausting grind for meaning, and Kafka nails that vibe.
He should stick to more novellas and short stories in my opinion, his short stories and novellas are much more enjoyable and understanding than his novels. And obviously his letters are must read which he never wanted to publish.
He should stick to more novellas and short stories in my opinion, his short stories and novellas are much more enjoyable and understanding than his novels. And obviously his letters are must read which he never wanted to publish.
March 9, 2025
Amerika: 7/10
Der Prozess: 9/10
Das Schloss: 8/10 (auch wenns ein kompletter Fiebertraum ist)
Der Prozess: 9/10
Das Schloss: 8/10 (auch wenns ein kompletter Fiebertraum ist)
March 1, 2016
I am a huge fan of Kafka, or I was. I studied his short stories at university and was bewildered and challenged by his writings yet found them irresistible. I enjoyed too the BBC film version of his greatest novel 'The Trial'. It still counts as one of my all-time favourite films.
So it was with great delight that I finally picked up my one-volume copy of all three of Kafka's novels and read it after waiting more than twenty years to find the time. I was eagerly expecting the magic words of the writer of 'The Metamorphosis' and 'In the Penal Colony' and ready to be entranced once again. I was bitterly disappointed.
To be fair, 'The Trial', shortest of the three, was superb - though not an easy read. I was more impressed that the BBC production had recreated the book almost down to the finest detail and I now have even greater admiration for the film. I was glad I read 'The Trial' and doing so means a happy ticking-off of one more book on the bucket list.
The second, longer novel 'America' was less effective. It followed the same dystopian plot of 'The Trial' namely that of a young man who, through no fault of his own, finds himself at the butt-end of life and suffering misery through the presumptions and misunderstandings of those in power above him. It was okay but I found the plot tiresome about a third of the way through. Still, it was worth reading.
But the third, and longest novel - 'The Castle'? Oh my good lord...
This was a novel which never should have been written (and indeed doesn't seem to have been completed even with the full version I have in my copy). It is like reading a bland, tasteless version of 'The Trial' but one which has been bloated to three times its natural length. The story failed to engage after the first few chapters and I found the conversations tedious, the plot tenuous and the characterisation utter devoid of any interest at all. There is no conclusion to the story, nothing to like in K (unlike the similar Joseph K of 'The Trial' who sparkles with life) and I found myself, after every scene, thinking 'who cares?'
My hearty recommendation to anyone buying the novels separately is: don't bother with 'America' and 'The Castle'. If you buy the three-novel volume as I did: don't waste the valuable hours of your life reading 'The Castle'. There are no pearls of wisdom, no hidden meanings, no depths to explore here that you can't find more succinctly and artistically written in 'The Trial'.
For me, Kafka has proven with novels to be rather like Beethoven with operas - managed one pretty darned well but it was a struggle! The composer, at least, had the good sense to leave operas well alone after Fidelio. Kafka, alas, didn't do the same with novels. His mind is brilliantly tuned to the structure of the short story. As a novelist, he is a rambling buffoon and incapable of saying anything of merit - nor of saying it quickly!
In short - read 'The Trial' but unless you find it profoundly intoxicating, don't bother with anything more. And if you've never read any Kafka before? Go to the short stories first before even considering a novel.
So it was with great delight that I finally picked up my one-volume copy of all three of Kafka's novels and read it after waiting more than twenty years to find the time. I was eagerly expecting the magic words of the writer of 'The Metamorphosis' and 'In the Penal Colony' and ready to be entranced once again. I was bitterly disappointed.
To be fair, 'The Trial', shortest of the three, was superb - though not an easy read. I was more impressed that the BBC production had recreated the book almost down to the finest detail and I now have even greater admiration for the film. I was glad I read 'The Trial' and doing so means a happy ticking-off of one more book on the bucket list.
The second, longer novel 'America' was less effective. It followed the same dystopian plot of 'The Trial' namely that of a young man who, through no fault of his own, finds himself at the butt-end of life and suffering misery through the presumptions and misunderstandings of those in power above him. It was okay but I found the plot tiresome about a third of the way through. Still, it was worth reading.
But the third, and longest novel - 'The Castle'? Oh my good lord...
This was a novel which never should have been written (and indeed doesn't seem to have been completed even with the full version I have in my copy). It is like reading a bland, tasteless version of 'The Trial' but one which has been bloated to three times its natural length. The story failed to engage after the first few chapters and I found the conversations tedious, the plot tenuous and the characterisation utter devoid of any interest at all. There is no conclusion to the story, nothing to like in K (unlike the similar Joseph K of 'The Trial' who sparkles with life) and I found myself, after every scene, thinking 'who cares?'
My hearty recommendation to anyone buying the novels separately is: don't bother with 'America' and 'The Castle'. If you buy the three-novel volume as I did: don't waste the valuable hours of your life reading 'The Castle'. There are no pearls of wisdom, no hidden meanings, no depths to explore here that you can't find more succinctly and artistically written in 'The Trial'.
For me, Kafka has proven with novels to be rather like Beethoven with operas - managed one pretty darned well but it was a struggle! The composer, at least, had the good sense to leave operas well alone after Fidelio. Kafka, alas, didn't do the same with novels. His mind is brilliantly tuned to the structure of the short story. As a novelist, he is a rambling buffoon and incapable of saying anything of merit - nor of saying it quickly!
In short - read 'The Trial' but unless you find it profoundly intoxicating, don't bother with anything more. And if you've never read any Kafka before? Go to the short stories first before even considering a novel.
July 19, 2012
Scusate la metafora...
Apri il libro, leggi la prima frase e sei subito catapultato nel mondo onirico e claustrofobico di Kafka.La burocrazia, la Legge, è la padrona assoluta, si contrappone ad ogni anelito di individuale libertà, soffoca ogni esigenza esistenziale. I protagonisti (o Kafka?) cercano di dimostrare la propria innocenza, combattono per farlo, ma la loro colpa è inconfutabile, non è neanche necessario essere incolpati di qualcosa, di qualunque cosa, si è colpevoli di esistere. Si esiste se si è coscienti della propria individualità, ma se si è coscienti della propria individualità non si può non esserlo della propria solitudine, dell'inutilità dei propri sforzi ( Baudelaire mon amour), dello stato di alienazione che sembra essere il vero peccato originale.La Legge, i "funzionari", sono la lente che ingigantisce la condizione dell'Uomo, ma l'Io è già tormentato da prima, la realtà è difficile da carpire, se poi in essa irrompe all'improvviso il grottesco, il surreale, ogni punto di riferimento, anche esteriore, salta e si può solo andare alla deriva nel mare "Esistenza", su una barca dal nome dipinto in grigio (e nessun altro colore!) "Perdita di ogni valore" ed approdare all'isola "Alienazione".
Kafka ha pubblicato pochissimo in vita, si è parzialmente ricreduto della sua intenzione di bruciare tutti i suoi scritti solo l'anno precedente la sua morte e non si è mai sentito uno "scrittore".I suoi romanzi sono la proiezione all'esterno del suo malessere interiore, niente di catartico in tutto questo, ma è quasi palpabile ciò che cercava nella letteratura: serviva a dimostrargli la sua esistenza.
Ah, dimenticavo...God Bless Max Brod.
Apri il libro, leggi la prima frase e sei subito catapultato nel mondo onirico e claustrofobico di Kafka.La burocrazia, la Legge, è la padrona assoluta, si contrappone ad ogni anelito di individuale libertà, soffoca ogni esigenza esistenziale. I protagonisti (o Kafka?) cercano di dimostrare la propria innocenza, combattono per farlo, ma la loro colpa è inconfutabile, non è neanche necessario essere incolpati di qualcosa, di qualunque cosa, si è colpevoli di esistere. Si esiste se si è coscienti della propria individualità, ma se si è coscienti della propria individualità non si può non esserlo della propria solitudine, dell'inutilità dei propri sforzi ( Baudelaire mon amour), dello stato di alienazione che sembra essere il vero peccato originale.La Legge, i "funzionari", sono la lente che ingigantisce la condizione dell'Uomo, ma l'Io è già tormentato da prima, la realtà è difficile da carpire, se poi in essa irrompe all'improvviso il grottesco, il surreale, ogni punto di riferimento, anche esteriore, salta e si può solo andare alla deriva nel mare "Esistenza", su una barca dal nome dipinto in grigio (e nessun altro colore!) "Perdita di ogni valore" ed approdare all'isola "Alienazione".
Kafka ha pubblicato pochissimo in vita, si è parzialmente ricreduto della sua intenzione di bruciare tutti i suoi scritti solo l'anno precedente la sua morte e non si è mai sentito uno "scrittore".I suoi romanzi sono la proiezione all'esterno del suo malessere interiore, niente di catartico in tutto questo, ma è quasi palpabile ciò che cercava nella letteratura: serviva a dimostrargli la sua esistenza.
Ah, dimenticavo...God Bless Max Brod.
December 4, 2021
I picked up this book at the Kafka Museum in Prague. Prior to visiting, I didn’t know much about him other than having read The Metamorphosis in high school. The museum is well worth the visit, but don’t go during the down time because the place is haunted and you would probably want some human company. Anyway, I fell in love with his work just after reading the first sentence of The Trial. K is accused of a crime he doesn’t know and to obtain more information about his alleged wrongdoing, he needs to chart the great labyrinth also known as government bureaucracy. When you put down the book, you’ll feel as if you have just woken up from a terrible dream and heave a sign of relief. Not everyone will enjoy his work, but if you are a little bit crazy and in no shortage of anxiety like I am, this will be right up your alley.
October 7, 2010
Read The Trial October 2009.
Currently reading The Castle, in Prague. Like Joseph K, I've been here a while but still haven't been to the Castle.
Finished the Castle while travelling with the family, just before coming home. Did go to Prague castle before that.
Currently reading The Castle, in Prague. Like Joseph K, I've been here a while but still haven't been to the Castle.
Finished the Castle while travelling with the family, just before coming home. Did go to Prague castle before that.
Want to read
March 29, 2009The castle by Franz Kafka (1954)
March 5, 2014
Got about forty pages into The Castle, and gave up. I only had about 37% left but I just couldn't finish it.
July 4, 2014
A good translation from the German. I love Kafka's writing style.
December 13, 2014
Loved them all.
The Trial - 4.5/5
Amerika - 5/5
The Castle 5/5
The Trial - 4.5/5
Amerika - 5/5
The Castle 5/5
March 12, 2023
November 4, 2022. Finished 'The Trial'.
February 19, 2023. Finished 'Amerika'.
March 12, 2023. Finished 'The Castle'.
February 19, 2023. Finished 'Amerika'.
March 12, 2023. Finished 'The Castle'.
November 25, 2024
Enjoyable collection of novels.
March 9, 2014
well that only took six months.
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