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The Trial

By Franz Kafka
Series: Oxford World's Classics
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Trial follows Josef K., a successful professional who is suddenly arrested without being told the nature of his crime. As he faces a bewildering and oppressive court system, Josef grapples with incomprehensible authority and mounting psychological pressure while seeking answers from various advisers. Kafka's unfinished novel explores themes of guilt, responsibility, and freedom through a haunting and ambiguous narrative that has become a cornerstone of modern world literature.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$4200

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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for readers interested in classic literature, philosophical novels, and explorations of existential and political themes. Suitable for those who appreciate thought-provoking and challenging narratives.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

The Trial is one of the central works of modern literature. This meticulous new translation includes the chapters Kafka left incomplete and is accompanied by a biographical preface, detailed introduction, chronology, bibliography and notes.

One of the great works of the twentieth century, Kafka's The Trial has been read as a study of political power, a pessimistic religious parable, or a crime novel where the accused man is himself the problem

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Someone must have been telling tales about Josef K. for one morning, without having done anything wrong, he was arrested.

A successful professional man wakes up one morning to find himself under arrest for an offence which is never explained. The mysterious court which conducts his trial is outwardly co-operative, but capable of horrific violence. Faced with this ambiguous authority, Josef K. gradually succumbs to its psychological pressure. He consults various advisers without escaping his fate. Was there some way out that he failed to see?

Kafka's unfinished novel, The Trial, has been read as a study of political power, a pessimistic religious parable, or a crime novel where the accused man is himself the problem. One of the iconic figures of modern world literature, Kafka writes about universal problems of guilt, responsibility, and freedom; he offers no solutions, but provokes his readers to arrive at meanings of their own.

This new edition includes the fragmentary chapters that were omitted from the main text, in a translation that is both natural and exact, and an introduction that illuminates the novel and its author.

ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years, Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780199238293

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 09 July 2009

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Oxford University Press

Contributors:

  • Translated by Mike Mitchell
  • Edited by Ritchie Robertson

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 14.0mm

Width: 130.0mm

Height: 197.0mm

Weight: 179g

Pages: 240

Collections

Classic Fiction Fiction Franz Kafka General Fiction Literary Fiction Series: Oxford World's Classics

About the Author

Mike Mitchell taught at the universities of Reading and Stirling before becoming a full-time literary translator. He is the co-author of Harrap's German Grammar and the translator of numerous works of German fiction for which he has been eight times shortlisted for prizes; his translation of Rosendorfer's Letters Back to Ancient China won the Schlegel-Tieck Prize in 1998. He translated Rodenbach's The Bells of Bruges for Dedalus in 2007. Ritchie Robertson is the author of the Very Short Introduction to Kafka. For Oxford World's Classics he has translated Hoffmann's The Golden Pot and Other Stories and introduced editions of Freud and Schnitzler. He is the editor of The Cambridge Companion to Thomas Mann.

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