Boring

[Sarah]

i can't even finish this book, its so frustrating. nothing ever happens.

[[deleted user]]

Well you shouldn't have started it , if frustration is not what you seek...

[Francois]

Isn't it kinda silly to comment about a Kafka book and say nothing ever happens? I mean... talk about not getting the point.

[[deleted user]]

I guess Kafka just isn't for everyone.

[GhostlyAspect]

I did not finish this book, but I love Kafka, mostly his dairy, his way of seeing the world.

[Eric]

I finished this book, but I guess I didn't really because the book wasn't finished. It was incredibly boring at times. I loved Metamorphosis and The Trial but this was mostly too slow moving and the characters are all so unlikeable, you just hope they all get a taste of the remarkable piece of equipment In The Penal Colony. I know that Kafka died before he finished it and gave up on it before he died, but the ending, or lack thereof was deeply frustrating. I wish I'd never picked this one up. If you haven't started this, please don't, because there's no conclusion and it's a terrible way to end circles and circles of pointless dialogue and stomping around a snowy village. Boo!

[Ivona]

lot of things happen, just not everyone seem to realize that.

[Adam]

I would agree that while Kafka's style is interesting as always, this is not as strong a narrative as in The Trial or Metamorphosis.

[Lee]

The first Kafka I read, after it was thrust into my hands by an encouraging English teacher as a grubby teenager. It's still my favourite.

[Pat]

I am lucky enough to have become bilingual more or less after 45 years in Switzerland (originally english) and have read most Kafka books in original german. I find them interesting, Kafka writes from a strange angle, but under the surface there is a lot to discover.

[Geoffrey]

Exactly. The Kafka tales are beguilingly simple and lucid, written in a writing style bared down, but the underlying meanings are deep and complex. I have found at times there is a shift in meaning which makes for a more difficult understanding of his work.

[Thaisa]

The Castle is a sort of fairy tale of modern life and actually I think that Kafka was the first person to write fairy tales of modern life. The Castle is really a first draft, with no ending, and a lot of passages that could be cut. But for me the world it invokes--the images, the descriptions, the poignant character of K.--is brilliant.

[Sasa]

I love Kafka's work: My first Kafka was The castle and I was unprepared for it. I did not like it at all. And this was high school. Later on during the college I read Kafka all over again and I love his work.

[Amber]

Geoffrey wrote: "Exactly. The Kafka tales are beguilingly simple and lucid, written in a writing style bared down, but the underlying meanings are deep and complex. I have found at times there is a shift in meaning..."

Agree! The reader just has to wade through all the surface details to find the deeper truths he's getting at. Unfortunately, you have to read this a few times to do that. And getting through all the surface detail was similar to walking through really thick mud. But overall I love Kafka and his extraordinary situations for ordinary folk.