The Trial in 100 Greatest Books of All Time [Franklin Library]

May 30, 2011 Lis rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-reads

[this is a draft i may edit later.] a successful bank employee is put on trial by an unknown court. he is notified he is under arrest and his case is pending, but is not otherwise interrupted from his daily life. he is not notified what the charges are, or what the process entails, so is at a loss to defend himself despite insisting he knows he is innocent, and considers if he is even under any obligation to recognize the court's authority over him.

i read this in mount laguna, and was unable to [this is a draft i may edit later.] a successful bank employee is put on trial by an unknown court. he is notified he is under arrest and his case is pending, but is not otherwise interrupted from his daily life. he is not notified what the charges are, or what the process entails, so is at a loss to defend himself despite insisting he knows he is innocent, and considers if he is even under any obligation to recognize the court's authority over him.

i read this in mount laguna, and was unable to discuss afterward so it took me a while to figure out what i even thought happened. there's that dream-like quality, where something that doesn't make sense is accepted as inevitable. or simply, it may not seem logical, but it's happening, so let's move on from here. this isn't a difficult book in that you know what's happening the entire time, but if you read this outside an english class or good book club, there are so many possible meanings that without discussion it is hard to solidify your thoughts on it.

whenever i go to mount laguna (in the cleveland national forest), i drive by the volunteer firefighters' station and stop if there's a rummage sale. i pick the best book i can find and purchase it, even if i'd never heard of it before. i finished this book a week ago from the day i am writing this review. today (05 june 2011), i finished a book i had bought at that rummage sale over a year ago, "the woman from hamburg". in it, is the following quote:

"kafka's the trial is not a metaphor for totalitarianism, as havel suggests; that would be too simple. it is the trial that awaits each of us, and life is an accumulation of defense material for the coming judgement."

that's it. without discussion, an unexpected source put to words what i was feeling about it. ultimately, can you defend the life you've led, or are leading? against who, in what court, at what time, is not necessary to understand or agree upon. the religious and the atheist will not agree on what, when and how "judgement" comes, and you may be doing exactly as society expects or even demands of you, but what difference does that really make? ...more

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Feb 11, 2011 Cheryl rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-olympics-challenge, 1001-books-you-must-read-before-you

This is just such a strange book! I was excited to see where Kafka lived (and have pictures of it) while I was in the Czech Republic. I will have to read some literary commentaries on this novel, considered by many the best of Kafka's writings and on the 100 Best Books of All-times of several groups. I guess typical of Kafka writings, this left me feeling like I was walking through a Fun House with all of the mirrors that distort all of the images you see as you walk through. Odd commentaries on ...more

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