Reviews

Dava by Franz Kafka

meghaha's review against another edition

5.0

The blurb probably does this book a lot of harm by calling it "terrifying / Kafka's nightmare/ chilling."

IMO, an embarrassing misread of the book that is nevertheless printed on the back of it. Sigh.

I also suspect the translation is rather bad. Poor book.

tizzlango's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

bbbensn's review against another edition

mysterious reflective medium-paced

5.0

coys's review against another edition

3.0

Didn't love it, but would definitely like to read more Kafka. I think I had a meh translation (@ library), and just picked a time to read it where I'd just read a book that was pretty dense and wanted something a little more digestible, which made this one a slog to read, probably at least somewhat unfairly. Thematically it felt consistent with what I imagine a lot of Kafka to be, and I did quite like that, hence the continued interest in Kafka.

Also fun fact: Finished this book the day before I went on a vacation, where I saw someone on the metro on the Goodreads app (probs the first time I've ever seen that in public), where they were reading the entry for...this book! Weird!

roberto_balogna's review against another edition

5.0

A nightmarish journey through the bureaucracy of the court analogized to man's mind. Perfect cruise reading.

will_nowicki's review against another edition

4.0

This book is exactly what high school felt like

kasty's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

rissasreading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

The Trial is an interesting and fascinating book that is rather quick but powerful. It also holds a great depiction of literary analysis within this novel that is meant to relate to our characters story, which I loved. The ending line is powerful and rather all encompassing for how this book played out. I feel like this is one I'll enjoy even more on a re-visit in a few years.

cataclysmicyolo's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

janelleybanelley's review against another edition

challenging mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.0