Reviews

The Trial by Franz Kafka

Only show reviews with written explanations

mia19's review against another edition

reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Again very enthusiastic 2,75

i like kafka but in my humble opinion his writing is straight up plain. he says so much but it doesn’t sound interesting at all
i find it also interesting how the author criticises the legal system through writing a trial that ends with death despite there being no explanation ever. However i felt like the ending was abrupt and like there was still so much one could say but also like there was nothing left anyway.
read this in german and also preferred it that way. even though i think kafka writes really plain i think he just has something in german that he doesnt have in english or that gets lost while translating.

tpdyson's review

Go to review page

challenging mysterious tense slow-paced

4.0

revwain's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark tense medium-paced

4.0

Waking up from your sleep and discovered that you have been under arrest without knowing why, was a very interesting concept and what ifs tbh.

My first kafka's novel and i was completely hooked with the nightmarish-dystopian settings. It was really nerve wrecking and i felt so inundated by how oppressive the judicial system was depicted. How they're everywhere and revealed to be more significant and more influential than what the reader and Josef K. thought so. The inaccessible parts of the system that remained mysterious which caused the defendant to suffer without explanation through their entire life. Everything felt strange yet weirdly realistic. lenjoyed the parable, the metaphorical allegory and the symbolism that often appeared throughout the book. The ending was dark yet i was left dumbfounded and incomplete which always tend to disturbed me more than it was supposed to.

liery7110's review

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

farewelltoarms's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

ruutendoo's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

this was interesting but i don’t know, the whole book just seemed…pointless to me. i enjoyed it but by the end i was just like, “oh. so that’s it?” will maybe give it a reread sometime in the future. (3.5)